Ninjago: Mistresses of Spinjitzu: Season 1
by The Mistress of Ninjago22
Summary: Two weeks have passed since Queen Valderra escaped through the vortex to who knows where. The ninja figured that their good deed is done and decide to relax-but all that changes when the Serpentine are set free. Now the ninja face many challenges ahead to stop the Serpentine from freeing the Great Devourer and discover their true potentials-and who will become the Yellow Ninja?
1. S1 E1: The Serpentine's Rise

NINJAGO

MISTRESSES OF SPINJITZU

S1 E1

THE SERPENTINE' S RISE

**HEY, GUYS! nglia21 HERE AND I HAVE RETURNED WITH A BRAND NEW SERIES OF STORIES.**

**THAT'S RIGHT. IT'S FINALLY HERE. IT TOOK SOME TIME, BUT I FINALLY GOT THE FIRST EPISODE FINISHED. NOW I WILL ADMIT THAT EVERY EPISODE IS IS GOING TO SPLIT ALL THE OTHER EPISODES IN HALF. THIS IS ONLY THE FIRST HALF OF THE FIRST EPISODE. THE SECOND HALF WILL BE CONSIDERED EPISODE TWO.**

**WELL, HERE YOU GO, GUYS. NOTE THAT I DO NOT OWN NINJAGO OR ANY OF ITS ORIGINAL CHARACTERS OR ANY PARTS OF THE SCRIPT. **

**ENJOY!**

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'_Long before time had a name, the First Spinjitzu Master created Ninjago using four elemental weapons known as the Golden Weapons. But before the weapons of creation, there were the weapons of life known as the Silver Weapons created by __a Japanese woman name Kika, the only person who could control __these__powerful weapons. These weapons were also protected by the First Spinjitzu Master, but when he passed, a dark presence sought out to collect them all-Queen Valderra. So I, Misako, along with my husband, Garmadon and his brother, Wu, the sons of the First Spinjitzu Master, sought out to find four ninja to collect them first.'_

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The story begins at the Monastery of Spinjitzu. Three older teachers known as Garmadon, Misako and Wu were meditating inside a room with spirit smoke filling the air to tell what is happening now in the present time. But it can be hard to concentrate when there were two young men making combat sounds in another room.

Garmadon sighed as he stood up and picked up his staff. "I better go check on Lloyd. It's hard to concentrate with all this noise." He walks out of the room and into the hall.

"Fire strike!" Kai exclaimed in the other room, "Oh man, is that the greatest move you've ever seen?"

"Stop trying to do it yourself, Kai," Lloyd said, "We need to attack as a team. You're as bad as your sister."

"Maybe so, but Nya is way worse than I am."

Garmadon wondered if those two were actually training. He heads over to the training compound and sees neither them nor the ninja. But he did see his niece, Monica, using a fake wooden sword to fight a stuffed practice dummy. Not wanting to disturb her, he closes the screen doors. If the boys weren't there, than that leaves only one other place: the entertainment room.

_He better not be doing what I think he's doing, _Garmadon thought, heading down the hallway again.

"Kai, why are you wasting your special attack on me?" Lloyd asked, "You have to save it."

"Whoops!" Kai cried out.

Lloyd groaned. "Fantastic! I'm out of lives! Thanks a lot, Kai."

Garmadon opens the door and, lo and behold, finds Kai and Lloyd inside playing video games.

He sees Kai shrug his shoulders. "But the lesson lives on, and I'm finally getting the hang of playing this game. Hee-yah!"

Garmadon sneaks inside and hides behind the television. Just as Lloyd called out, "Okay, now!" Garmadon reached for the cord and unplugged the TV.

"What the..." Kai looked up at Garmadon.

"Dad!" Lloyd yelled, "It took us three hours to get through that level! Why would you do that?!" Then he widened his eyes. "Uh, Kai made me do it!" He hid behind the couch.

Kai scoffed at hearing what Lloyd said. "Like I forced you to play video games. You just came in here, grabbed a console and started playing. If anyone made you do it, it was you."

"Dad, he's lying!" Lloyd pointed his hand at Kai.

Garmadon took the video game system off the coffee table and carried it out of the room. "You just added another week to your grounding, Lloyd. Go outside and train with your cousin. Kai, you keep searching around for any mischievous deeds."

Kai sighed, pulling out the laptop. "Yes, Garmadon."

Lloyd walked out of the room and headed off for the training course. Garmadon headed off to his and Misako's bedroom to put away the video games. When he turned the corner, he was horrified by the sight. Shopping bags and stuffed animals were piled up everywhere. That could only mean the ninja went shopping and were goofing off instead of training.

He wasn't sure where to find them this time. He began searching the whole monastery, gaining strange looks from Misako and Wu, who just walked out of the meditation room.

"Garmie, what are you doing?" Misako said.

"Well, I seem to be having some difficulties finding the girls," Garmadon said, "They disappeared and I can't find them."

Wu sighed. "I think I may know where they are. Follow me."

The three elders went out the front doors of the monastery in the gardens. A place filled with all sorts of flowers, bushes and trees. (Well, mostly cherry blossom trees.) But in the center of such a beautiful place were the ninja sitting in lounge chairs in their bathing suits, soaking in the sun and gossiping.

"Statistics say that 63% of people prefer chocolate ice cream than vanilla or strawberry," Pixal said, "Which do you all prefer?" Unlike the other three who wore one or two piece bathing suits, Pixal wore a sundress decorated with flowers and palm trees.

"I prefer vanilla," Nya said, dusting off her one piece bathing suit colored black with a blue outline shown around it, "And the only chocolate I would add is chocolate chips."

"I'd pick strawberry in a heartbeat," Kitty said, adjusting the straps of her green two piece bathing suit.

"Everything to me has to be chocolate," Carol said, holding a bar of chocolate in her hand, "Solid chocolate, chocolate pudding, chocolate cereal, hot chocolate, fruit covered in chocolate, and so many others I could go on and on about. I mean, I literally named my cat Chocolate. That's how much I love it. I'll pretty much eat it anytime of the day. Just hand it over to me and I'll gobble it down." Her chocolate bar started dripping on her purple bathing suit that also had a little frilly skirt around the waist. She gasped. "Isn't that just wonderful? I got chocolate all over my brand new bathing suit. I just bought this the other day. Now it's ruined."

"You can just wash it out," Kitty said.

"Do you know how long it'll take to get a chocolate stain out? I'll probably have to wash this at least ten times." A shadow blocked the sun out in front of Carol, causing the poor girl to freak out. "Oh, my gosh! Girls, I think the moon's blocked the sun! It's the end of the world as we know it!" She turned around and saw that it was Garmadon, Misako and Wu standing there and began chuckling nervously. "Oh, hi. For a second there, I thought you were a solar eclipse."

Garmadon sighed, doing his best to speak in a calm manner. "You know, I understand that in the heart of every young lady, there is a place where you all want to do nothing more than go shopping and gossip about things that don't matter and sit around all day burning your skin in the sun."

"But it is time for you girls to understand that you are not ordinary young ladies," Wu said, "Just because Queen Valderra escaped through a vortex doesn't mean she won't return one day for the Silver Weapons of Life!"

"And just because Princess Marga has not begun terrorizing Ninjago doesn't mean that she won't return to try and take you down," Misako told the girls.

"My teachers, ever since those two have been gone, Ninjago has had nothing but peace," Pixal said.

"Yeah," Carol said, grabbing a washcloth to scrub the chocolate stain off her bathing suit, "Peace is boring. There's no one to save. There's nothing to do. And the best way to pass the time is to relax."

"There are plenty of other things you all could be doing," Garmadon said, "You could do chores or go out and patrol Ninjago on your dragons or maybe even train."

"We can train tomorrow," Kitty said, taking off her sunglasses.

"Girls, you should never put off until tomorrow what can be done today," Misako said, "That was a lesson I learned the hard way once."

Kitty picked up a chocolate bar from out of her bag and held it up. "Well, I was gonna eat this chocolate bar tomorrow. So if that's the case, I guess I'll eat it now."

Wu finally had enough and used his staff to knock the chocolate bar out of Kitty's hand. "No chocolate for you! In order to reach your full potential, you must train!"

"Sensei Wu, remember when we did a little thing called the Tornado of Life?" Nya reminded her teacher, "I thought that was pretty insane. I believe after such an extremely amount of power like that, we needed to rest our bodies."

Wu sighs. "You four have merely scratched the surface of your full potential. There are still so many secrets you have yet to unlock. You haven't even begun to tap into what powers your silver weapons hold."

Carol gasped. "You wanna talk about secret powers? Check this out. I've been working on this for the past few days." She takes a bit of magic in her hand and bounces it up in the air, letting droplets of water rain down on the four of them, cooling them down from the hot sun.

Sensei Wu begins pulling on his beard in frustration. Garmadon sighs. "It can be time consuming trying to get inside a teenage girl's mind."

Wu shook his head. "Is this what my daughter will turn into?"

Pixal felt pity on her teachers and placed a hand on Wu's shoulder. "Don't worry, Sensei Wu. We will be ready when Princess Marga or even Queen Valderra returns."

Kai rushes up to the ninja and teachers panting after running so fast. "Everyone! It's Princess Marga! She's returned! She was spotted approaching Jamanakai Village!"

"What?!" the ninja shouted out at once. They scrambled out of their lounge chairs and struggled to prepare for their mission.

Kitty reaches for her ninja uniform in her bag, but she drops it in front of Kai while bumping into him. Kai reached down to get it for her to which she was grateful. "Oh, thank you." She blushed while taking her uniform back.

"No problem," Kai said, "But you need to hurry!"

"Right!" Kitty rushed over to the monastery.

It took the girls a few minutes to get dress and grab their silver weapons and to head out the door and on their way to the dragon's cabinet where their dragon's stayed. They literally showed signs of unfitness. And clumsy signs at that. One of the dragon doors hits Pixal's head. Kitty drops her bow and arrows when mounting on Wild Cherry. Carol fails to mount on Crystal while she ended up jumping over the large reptilian beast.

Wu sighs. Misako grows worried that the mission will turn out a disaster. Garmadon shakes his head. "I fear for their safety."

Lloyd felt like this was the perfect opportunity to fight. He walks up nonchalantly. "Wow, what a sight! These girls are having a bit of trouble. Probably having an off day. Maybe someone should go with them to make sure nothing happens to them. Any volunteers?" He raised his hand while looking in his father's direction. "Anyone at all?"

Garmadon groaned. "Forget it, Lloyd. You're not going. I advise that you continue training."

Lloyd slaps himself in the face while storming off. "I can't believe this."

Kai went over to help Nya on Water Lily. "Can I help you girls out?"

"Sorry, big bro," Nya said, "Where we go, danger abounds. This is a job for the ninja." She reaches out to grab her dragon's reins, but couldn't bend forward far enough to reach it. She let's out a nervous laugh while looking at her brother. "A little help?"

Kai shook his head while handing his sister the reins. "Come back in one piece."

The girls were finally settled enough for their dragons to finally go airborne. They cheered in excitement as they flew off to Jamamakai Village.

"Two weeks of shopping and soaking in the sun is going to be their defeat," Monica said, watching the ninja fly off in the distance.

"I wonder if they'll ever reach their full potential," Kai said.

"In time," Wu said, "Maybe a long time, but in time."

They can only hope the ninja will return safely.

**NEXT SCENE**:

The mistresses are seen flying high in the sky on their elemental dragons, excitement consuming them as they head off to face danger after two weeks of being confined to doing nothing but shopping and relaxing. They were ready for anything. Or let's hope they are.

"Just like old times, eh, Wild Cherry?" Kitty asked her dragon friend.

"I suppose, but old times happened two weeks ago," Wild Cherry said, "I'm not sure that counts."

"Hey, do you girls believe what our teachers said about unlocking our full potential?" Nya asked.

"They may be onto something," Carol said, "I mean ever since we got these silver weapons, it's not like we ever had to use them. I wonder what they do." She gasped. "I know. Maybe they might be able to help us go back in time. Or maybe they could predict our futures. Or maybe they might turn us into adorable animals."

Crystal chuckled. "Those weapons bring you more than what you think."

"Really? What?"

"That I can't tell you. You must find it on your own."

"I for one look forward to the future," Pixal said, "If there is more for us to accomplish, let it be."

"Don't know about you all, but is anyone else a little excited about battling Princess Marga?" Kitty asked, "I've been looking forward to trying out some new Spinjitzu moves. And kicking some bad guy booty. Could be the perfect opportunity."

"You all wanna race there?" Nya asked, "We're not too far from reaching the village."

Kitty shrugged. "What the heck? Last ninja there does the dishes tonight!"

"Okay, I guess we're racing!" Water Lily called out, "Time to speed up, ladies!"

Jamanakai Village was only a flight downwards. The ninja and their dragons sped through the sky and flew down to the largest populated village in Ninjago. They went at maximum speed through the last stretch as they finally landed in the center of their destination. They all landed at the same time, but none of them were willing to call it a tie.

"I was first!" Nya shouted.

"That is so not true!" Carol yelled, "I got here first! No one was faster than me!"

"Sorry, girls," Kitty said, jumping off her dragon and onto the dusty ground, "Me feet were down before all of yours!"

"My apologies for shouting, but you were all disillusioned!" Pixal shouted, "It was clearly me who won!"

"Sorry, ladies," Wild Cherry said, "It was clearly a tie."

"Looks like you all will be washing dishes tonight," Blossom said.

Their argument over who won and who didn't was interrupted by the villagers screaming and running to their homes. They noticed a menacing shadow appear from the side of a building and evil laughter is heard. The ninja gather up towards the building with their weapons drawn and hoods down, prepared for battle.

"Get ready, girls," Nya said, "As my father always says, 'whatever happens, never let your guard down.'"

The laughter slowly turns from menacing to humorous and the shadow actually resembled the shape of a young woman who looked to be around the ninja's age. She had long, blonde curly hair that went down to the bottom of her back and two orange butterfly clips held her bangs back from shielding her eyes. She wore a pair of golden yellow rimmed glasses over her Sun colored eyes and also wore a gold chained necklace with a sun charm hanging in the middle, the center of the sun being a yellow jewel. She wore a yellow blouse with an orange sweater wrapped around her and long khaki pants. On her back was an orange backpack and in her hands was a book, the front cover having a picture of a serpent.

"Oh, this is such a comical book!" the girl said in a sweet sing-song British accent, "Such humor!" Once her laughter died down, she cleared her throat, reading a passage from her book. "'Slithraa, the general of the Hypnobrai tribe of the Serpentine, looked down at the young surface dweller, a small little boy no older than seven, and tried to hypnotize him. But the boy outsmarted the snake and hid behind a block of ice, causing Slithraa to look at his own reflection's eyes and hypnotizing himself.'" She began laughing again. "Oh, this is such an incredible novel! I wish I could rest for a bit to read some more of it." She looked in front of her and spotted the village fountain. "Oh, how lovely! A perfect place to rest." She sat on the side of the fountain as she continued her book.

"What is going on here?" Carol asked, "I thought we were facing Princess Marga, the princess of darkness. This girl seems so sweet and innocent."

"I'm just as confused as you are," Nya said, "And she has no idea how much of a ruckus she's caused. Everyone thinks she's the bad guy."

"Let's go fix this problem," Kitty said, leading the ninja over to the girl.

The girl begins laughing again, once again reading aloud. "'The boy decided to use the Hypnobrai to help him cause some mischief and they raid an entire village to steal every bit of candy.' Oh, this is getting good!" She hears a throat clearing in front of her and looks up to see four ninja staring down at her. She closes her book and smiles. "Why, hello there. May I help you all with something?"

Carol walks up and starts examining the girl. "Hmmm...no black clothing. No dark make-up. No black hair with a white highlight." She even opened the girl's mouth to check her teeth. "No sharp teeth. Just pure white and straight. And no cavities. This isn't Princess Marga. This is just a normal girl."

"And to think we could've been doing Spinjitzu already," Kitty said.

The girl gasped. "Oh, my! You all are the ninja! I've heard so much about all of you! You must know something about Princess Marga and Queen Valderra, do you not?"

"Yes," Nya said, "Why do you ask?"

"Well, I've been trying to search for them," the girl explained, "I've been out for three whole months to see if I can't persuade Marga to return home. And maybe even Valderra. Oh, where are my manners? My name is Zelda Mary Allyman. But you can call me Zelda."

"Good to meet you," Kitty said, "Now what's all this talk about telling the grandmother and granddaughter, also known as the dark rulers, to go back home with you?"

"Well, Marga happens to be my older sister," Zelda said, "And Valderra is my grandmother."

The villagers began running in fear of Zelda, but Kitty calmed the crowd. "Calm yourselves, everyone! This girl has done nothing to harm you! She was just passing by! Yes, she has family who is controlled by darkness, but that doesn't mean she's evil or anything! Just look at her! Does she look or act evil?"

The villagers finally calmed down and understood as they continued back on their daily routine. Zelda sighed in relief. "Thank you. Now I can get back to my book. I'm already on the good part."

"May I ask what kind of book that is?" Pixal asked.

"Oh, just a book of legends that I've had since I was a little girl," Zelda said, "I have always been interested in learning so much about the Serpentine."

"Not trying to hurt your feeling or anything, but those Serpentine bedtime stories are nothing but fairy tales," Nya said, "They don't exist."

"The Serpentine are real, Nya," Pixal said, "They're not something to joke about. Even my father believes in them."

"We're talking about the ancient race of snake people who once ruled Ninjago and were supposedly locked underground. My parents told my brother and I that story a million times."

"Oh, I've read about those guys," Carol whimpers in fear, "There were five different species of them. They were each sealed in five different tombs to separate the worrying tribes and ensure they don't unify to exact their revenge upon those who put them there. I would hate to see them return."

"Girls, there's nothing to worry about," Nya said, "The Serpentine are an old wise tale to teach kids not to poke their noses where they don't belong. Don't you think it's a little suspicious no one's ever found one of their tombs?"

"Well that's because you'd be a fool to look for one," Kitty said, "If there was one thing I hated more than scraping barnacles off the side of me parent's ship, it was snakes."

Zelda sighed, closing her book. "Well, I suppose there's no more time to read. I must continue on my journey to find lost members of my family."

Kitty places a hand on Zelda's shoulder. "You can go and try, but I can't guarantee you'll be able to make them do what you want."

"And it may be a long time before you can see your grandmother again," Nya said, "Last we saw of her, she went through a vortex and hasn't been seen since."

"And your sister resides in the Underworld, a place where no mortal can go," Pixal said.

"Well, I will do whatever it takes," Zelda said, "I am determined and refuse to surrender until my family is complete once more." She grabs her bag and resumes her journey, but not without turning around to face the ninja again. "Oh, and it was a pleasure to meet you all. I hope we meet again in the future." She then walks away and heads out of the village.

"You know what this means, girls," Carol said and shouts, "TREAT TIME!"

"I could use some chocolate," Nya said.

"None for me, thanks," Kitty said, "Me face is all broken out."

Carol walked over to her bag. "I know I stuck some money in my bag. Where is it?"

"Hold on," Nya said, "I think I have some." She searches through the bag attached to Water Lily's saddle and pulls something out. In her hand was a scroll. "What's this? I don't remember packing this."

"That's Misako's bag," Pixal said, "You must've accidentally took it in the rush."

"Oh, what is it?" Carol asked with excitement.

"It's a scroll, you nut," Nya said while rolling her eyes.

"I know it's a scroll, but what does it say? It's written in chicken scratch. And I thought everything my brothers say were nothing but chicken scratch."

"Don't you mean write?" Kitty asked.

"No, they talk like chicken scratch because I can never understand what they're saying," Carol said.

Pixal shook her head. "This is not chicken scratch. It is the ancient language of our ancestors."

"Can you read it?" Nya asked, "You're smart and all. You should know what this says."

"My father only started at the beginning of teaching me the ancient language, but I can give it a try." Pixal pointed to a symbol. "Do you see this symbol here? It means prophecy."

"Prophecy?" Carol asked, "Doesn't that have something to do with the past?"

Nya sighed. "Prophecy means telling what the future may hold."

"Ohhh! I knew that!"

Nya rolled her eyes. "Of course you did."

Pixal cleared her throat. "From what I am able to decipher, it says here that one ninja will rise above the others and become the Yellow Ninja, the ninja destined to defeat the Queen of Darkness."

Carol gasped in excitement seeing a picture of the ninja in yellow. "Look, girls! A pretty picture!"

"Queen of Darkness?" Nya gasped. "Hold on a minute. By Queen of Darkness, do you think they mean Queen Valderra?" She scanned through the scroll while also seeing a picture of the four ninja. "What a minute! That's us drawn on the bottom! Are any of you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Like how beautiful I'm gonna look in the color yellow?" Carol bragged, "I can just see it now. All of you will bow down before me."

"Isn't it obvious I'm gonna be the Yellow Ninja?" Nya argued back, "I look way better in lighter colors."

"The color obviously suits me! I've seen you wear yellow before and it makes you look fat!"

"Well you wearing yellow makes your eyes look weird!"

"Nya, Carol, please settle your differences," Pixal said, getting in between the two bickering ninja, "Is your vision blurry? You must be blind to not realize that I am the best."

The three began arguring about who was the best when Kitty rushed over to break it up. "Hey, hey, hey! You all stop it! Remember why our teachers brought us together in the first place. We're a team." She snatched the scroll out of Nya's hand. "We weren't meant to see this and probably for good reason. Come on, let's head back home. We have training to do. I really need to get back into shape."

"You're right about that," Carol agreed, "I think it's about time I added some fitness to my routine. The last time I had a decent workout was two weeks ago."

"Well, I could use some exercise," Pixal said, hopping on Blossom's back, "I haven't climbed any trees in a while."

"And this will be a good time to work on some new moves," Kitty said, "Come on, girls."

Carol, Kitty and Pixal flew up into the sky and began heading home, except for Nya who still remained in the village. Her mind was still wrapped around what was written in that scroll. Who knew that one ninja could be better than the four ninja who carry the Elements of Life? But only one thing stuck in her mind. "Could I be the Yellow Ninja?"

She was taken out of her zone by Water Lily's throat clearing. "Earth to Nya. We need to head home now."

"Oh, yeah. Sorry." Nya climbed up on the water dragon and flew home through the air.

But one thought still showered her mind. _Who is the Yellow Ninja?_

**NEXT SCENE:**

The Glacier Barrens was known as a few of the coldest places in Ninjago, located within the Frozen Wasteland. The temperature can be ten and below and could freeze even a tree as tall as the mountains. But it couldn't freeze the footsteps of a determined woman travelling the land to search for her missing family members.

Zelda wanders aimlessly in the cold, looking at her map to find exactly where she needed to go. She looked around, enjoying the peace of the falling snow. "The Glacier Barrens. Extremely cold, but that's to be expected. If only I had stopped to pick up some tea back at the village. It would've warmed me up once I seek shelter somewhere." She shook her head. "No matter. They would've froze in this weather. Best to keep going forward."

As she walked, her foot kicked a stone, causing it to land straight ahead of her. It hit what looked almost like a rock, but it made a clang sound, not a tap sound when a small rock hits a big rock.

This concerned Zelda as she walked up to it. "What is this?" She brushes the snow away and is shocked to find out what she just discovered. "Oh, my goodness." She jumps back on her feet.

Sitting in front of Zelda's feet was the first of the five Serpentine tombs. This one belong to the tribe known as the Hypnobrai. Zelda knew about this tribe. They were given their name because of their power of hypnotism. Their power works by rattling their tails and stare straight in the eyes of their victim. If the victim happens to look their way, they are placed under their control. This is usually a direct enslavement, but the Hypnobrai can also plant post-hypnotic commands. In this state, the Hypnobrai can see through their victim's eyes, and enforce their hypnotic control at any time.

Luckily, there were two ways to keep from being hypnotized: the anti-venom from the general's staff or avoiding eye contact with them. And Zelda could be prepared for the worst if that ever happened.

She snorts. "Only a fool would unlock a Serpentine's tomb. I'll just be on my way." But before she could move another step, her backpack strap hooked onto the lever that unlocks the tomb's door, causing her to fall inside. "AAAHHHH!" She lands flat on her face inside the icy tomb, her backpack falling on top of her.

She stood up, checking to make sure she didn't break her glasses. Luckily, she didn't as she placed them back on her face, but the sight she saw in front of her was not what she wanted to see.

Standing in front of Zelda was a Hypnobrai with a cobra head with red menacing eyes and skales colored blue and yellow with medium dark gray mixed in here and there. This snake had a long tail, telling Zelda that this Hypnobrai was the general, the one in charge of the tribe.

He smirked at Zelda. "Greetings, little girl. My name is Skales, general of the Hypnobrai tribe."

"W-Who are you calling a little girl, you scoundrel?" Zelda said, backing away from him.

Skales stood tall with his golden staff in his scaly hands, staring down at Zelda. "You are out of your mind to venture so far away from home, child."

"And I was just about to leave." She continued backing away until she bumped into something behind her. Or rather someone. This someone was another Hypnobrai that looked like a copy of Skales, except he had legs instead of a long tail. He glared down at the human girl. Zelda tried running off, but he grabbed her by the waist. She began kicking and squirming to release herself from his strong grasp. "Let me go! I mean no harm!"

Skales chuckled. "Keep a hold on her, Slithraa. And keep her facing forward. I want to get a good look at her eyes. They are the color of the Sun."

"No!" Zelda shouted, shutting her eyes, "I won't let you!"

Skales sighed. "Looks like I'll have to call in reinforcements. Selma! Come out, my beautiful wife!"

This Hypnobrai came out and looked just like Skales and Slithraa, but she had pink and white scales and a string of pearls around her neck. She came forward and used her hands to force Zelda's eyes open. "No need to worry, dear. This won't take long."

"No!" Zelda kept shouting, "Please, I beg of you! Release me!"

Skales placed his red eyes on Zelda's Sun colored ones and began rattling his tail, starting the hypnotism process. "Look into my eyes. Give up your mind. I will control you."

Because Zelda had no choice, she let Skales take over her mind as her eyes swirled red. "Give up my mind. You will control me."

"You will obey myself and my army and do everything we tell you."

"Yes, Master." Zelda was released from Slithraa's grasp and bowed in respect. "What shall I do for you?"

"You are to lead my army and I to the surface and help us find humans to control."

"Yes, Master." Zelda started climbing up through the hole where she fell in.

Skales grinned. "Excellent. Slithraa, gather the army! We shall begin our attack on the surface dwellers!"

"And what about me, my love?" Selma asked her husband.

"Why, my dear wife, you are coming along with me," Skales told her, "I'm not about to let you miss out on all the fun." He linked arms with his wife. "Come, let us take that dream stroll you wanted."

And it was that moment that the Serpentine rise from their tombs.

This is gonna be bad...

* * *

**SO, GUYS, WE GOT CHANGES HERE AND SOME SIMILARITIES. YOU GUYS LIKE TO PLAY SPOT THE DIFFERENCE. TELL ME WHAT THOSE DIFFERENCES ARE IN THE REVIEWS. **

**I'LL TRY TO HAVE EPISODE TWO OUT BEFORE CHRISTMAS. AND I HOPE ALL OF YOU HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS. **

**HOPE THIS CHAPTER WAS GOOD.**

**PLEASE REVIEW.**


	2. S1 E2: The Hypnobrai

S1 E2

THE HYPNOBRAI

The ninja return home to the Monastery of Spinjitzu for training. The four of them stood in front of the doors leading to the training course. Now was time to state the real reason for training.

"Okay, we all agree with the plan for training," Kitty said, "The prophecy states that one of us will become the Yellow Ninja and the issue will not rest until it is decided."

"May I suggest a tournament?" Pixal suggested, "Last ninja standing is the best."

"And will be declared the Yellow Ninja," Nya said.

"Yay, I love this plan!" Carol exclaimed.

They opened the doors and noticed Kai was training on the training course. He was doing pretty good ever since he got some practice with it while the ninja were relaxing. Lloyd and Monica were outside watching him jumping on poles and kicking down dummies. When Kai made it to the carousel, he heard the girls walking in, getting distracted and ended up getting smacked in the face, knocking him off the course.

Kitty rushed over to help him up. "You alright?"

Kai was lying flat on the ground as he looked in Kitty's eyes. "I will be now that an angel from above is here."

Kitty giggled, reaching out a hand to help the spiky haired teenager. "I suppose you're trying to beat your sister's speeding record."

Kai was helped back on his feet, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, I'm getting there. Not that I wanna show off or anything. So I heard about what happened in town. Just a false alarm?"

Kitty sighed. "Yes, unfortunately. Who everyone thought was Princess Marga turned out to be her younger sister."

"Are you serious?" Monica rushed over once she heard what Kitty said. "What did she look like? What's her name? Is she evil like her sister?"

"If she were evil, it wouldn't have been a false alarm," Nya said, "Her name is Zelda and she just looks like an average normal teenage girl."

"Oh, this is gonna make my book sound so awesome. The Princess of Darkness has a younger sister who is good and pure at heart and is also the Princess of Light. The two are in a fierce war for a decade, but with so many deaths and so many tragedies on both sides, the sisters finally end the war during that time, but the Princess of Darkness made a promise to return in twenty years to finally make a winning resolution for the war. Who will win, you ask? Well, I can't even answer that question myself."

"I'd read it," Kitty said.

"We'd like to talk more, but it's time for us to train," Nya said, "We're gonna need the space, bro."

"No problem," Kai said, stretching his arms, "I've been training for over an hour, anyway."

Carol began searching through the trunk of the training equipment, throwing out armory and joint pads. One of the helmets went flying and smacked Kitty in the back of the head. The wild ninja held her sore spot in pain. "Ow! Watch where you're throwing that thing!"

"Sorry," Carol said, "I'm just trying to get everything ready." She buries herself in the trunk trying to find equipment.

"Alright, ladies," Kitty said, passing out armory, "Two matches. Then the winners of each face off for the title. Armors for our own protection. It's time to see what these bad girls can do." She held out her silver bow and arrows.

"Hey, Kai, wanna stay and watch me mop the floor with my fans and watch these girls slide all over the place?" Nya asked her brother.

"No, thanks," Kai said, "I think I'll just visit Jamanakai Village. Knock yourselves out." He spotted Lloyd sitting on the mat of the patio playing a game on his handheld video game. When he spotted Garmadon opening the doors, he smirked and said, "Lloyd, you better not let your dad find out what you're doing."

Lloyd shrugged, too engrossed in his game to care. "He's not out here. What he doesn't know won't hurt him."

"Oh, really?" Garmadon came up behind Lloyd and removed the game from his son's hands. "I had a feeling you still had this. That's another week added." He turned around and walked back inside the monastery.

"Ugh!" Lloyd groaned, "I hate not having anything to do! I can't live without video games!"

"How about you come with me to Jamanakai Village?" Kai suggested, "You can have all the freedom you want there."

Lloyd sighed. "Why not? You wanna come along, Monica?"

"Are you kidding?" Monica said, "Watching practice fights is way better!"

"Suit yourself." Lloyd followed behind Kai as they left through the large doors of the monastery.

Kitty watched as Carol was still inside the equipment trunk and sighed. "Carol, would you stop playing around and get out of there?"

"I would if I could, but I'm stuck," Carol said, "Help me!"

With a shake of her head, Kitty walked over to the trunk and kicked it over, knocking everything, including Carol, on the ground. She stood over the animal sorcery mistress. "Would you stop fooling around? We've got training to do!"

"Okay, okay." Carol got up and brushed herself off. "You don't have to be rude about it."

Kitty sighed, placing her armory helmet on. "Alright, girls, let's begin! First up: Nya and Carol! Ready..."

Nya and Carol positioned themselves on opposite sides, ready to fight.

... set... Ninja Go!"

The match commences with Carol using her bo staff, hoping it may put a spell on Nya. When she saw it didn't do anything, she began trying to say a spell. "**Fujō**!" But it did nothing but shoot out yellow clouded dust in her face, causing her to go into an all-out coughing fit.

"Is that all you can do?" Nya asked, raising up her fans, "Time to give you a bath. That dust is filthy." She twirled her fans around and it began sending out water in a sprinkler-like motion, spraying all over Carol. Nya laughed. "Ha! Gotcha!"

"Oh, this is getting good!" Monica said with excitement.

Carol got fed up and began heating up in anger. "Oh, it's on now!" Her bo staff began glowing, and no sooner did Carol began to glow and transform into a ferocious tiger, roaring loudly and rushing up to Nya.

Nya gasped and began waving her fans around. When she did that, it began shooting out water in the shape of a ball. It hit Carol in the face, putting fear in her heart and transforming her into a kitten. When the other water blast hit her, she ran off and hid behind the carousel, shaking like a leaf. She turned herself back to normal with her bo staff.

"You win! You win!" Carol cried out, "Just don't soak the kitten with water anymore!"

Nya smirked. "Well played, Carol."

Nya won the first match. Now it was time for round two.

"Next up: Kitty and Pixal!" Nya announced, "Ready..."

Kitty and Pixal were in formation, ready for anything.

...set... Ninja Go!"

At first the battle is shown to be balanced with Kitty shooting arrows and Pixal either using her sais to block them or moving out of the way to avoid being hit. Pixal even got close to Kitty in order to slash her, but Kitty moved away every time with speed so fast not even the nature ninja could keep up.

Pixal began to get aggravated and finally slammed her sais on the ground, which summoned trees filled with sap to grow from the ground. The sap oozed on the ground surrounding Kitty's feet, sticking her in one place.

"I have you now," Pixal said, going up to Kitty to lay out another attack.

Kitty looked around, fearing what would happen if Pixal took her down when a brilliant idea came to her mind. She aimed the last arrow she had at the steel chains holding the punching bags and shot right at it. The arrow flew through the air, creating a vine from behind and had it swing around until it flew right over to Pixal, tying her up and making her fall to the ground. She struggled in the vines as Kitty freed herself from the sap and aimed an arrow at Pixal. "Sorry, Pix. It looks like I have you."

Kitty has won the second match. That only leaves the final round: Nya vs. Kitty.

Monica stood in between Nya and Kitty, calling out for the final match.

"Okay, everyone," Monica said, "We have made it to the final round! This is it, folks. Only one can win the prize and the title for the best ninja the world has ever seen! This will finally tell us who is the legendary Yellow Ninja. Good luck to you both." She stepped back out on the patio. "Ready... set... Ninja Go!"

Nya and Kitty both battle evenly with their weapons. Kitty kept shooting her arrows and summoning vines to tangle all over the place, making it harder for Nya to run through. But the water ninja had an advantage to create a rainfall on the vines so hard that they fell down. Kitty began getting frustrated and shoots an arrow in front of Nya's feet.

The water ninja smirked. "Is that all you got?"

But looks can be deceiving when that one arrow begins spreading wildlife everywhere. Nya got stuck in the tangled vegetation, squirming her way out, but it was too tight around her. She was literally tied up.

"Yes, I am the greatest!" Kitty exclaimed.

Nya was fuming with anger and tries using her fans, but they began glowing brightly and she started losing control on them. The fans began shooting out water, getting rid of the vegetation, but the training compound began flooding with water.

"Oh, no!" Nya cried.

"Oh, man!" Monica shouted.

"It's flooding!" Pixal yelled out.

"Water!" Carol started freaking out and running around in circles. "There's water in the compound!" She slipped and fell flat on her back.

Nya had no control over her weapon and finally throws it on the ground, causing the entire training compound to flood with water. Wu, Garmadon and Misako rush outside to see the commotion. Wu quickly takes the Sais of Nature to create a river of flowing water to drain the water out of the training course.

The ninja sighed a breath of relief, but the teachers were not happy. Wu was even more furious out of the three elders, glaring daggers at the four young ladies in front of him. "What were you girls thinking?!"

Carol blurted out the truth. "Uh, we were trying to figure out who is the Yellow Ninja." She receives a smack on the head by Pixal. "Ow! That hurts!" Then she gasped. "Oh, did I say Yellow Ninja? No, sorry. That's not what I meant to say. What I was trying to say was we were trying to figure out who is a more mellow ninja in the entire group."

"Oh, no," Garmadon shook his head, "It seems they have found the scroll."

Wu removed the scroll from Monica's hand. "Monica, you know things that belong to the adults is to stay out of your hands."

"Sensei Wu, it wasn't her that took it," Nya confessed, "I accidentally grabbed your bag in the rush for our mission."

Wu sighed. "I can believe that. But you were not supposed to see this."

"But my teachers, we need to know," Nya said, "Which one of us is the chosen one? Who out of all of us will become the Yellow Ninja?"

"None of you will," Misako said.

"Your elements have already been chosen for you," Garmadon explained, "Only a woman with a pure heart and the goodness of light within will become the Yellow Ninja."

"Well, this is just disappointing," Kitty crossed her arms in anger.

"Besides, your only concern is to unlock your full potential," Wu said.

"My teachers, I must ask," Pixal said, "Nya's fans started glowing bright to the point she began losing control of them."

"Yeah," Nya said, "Is this what you meant by unlocking our Silver Weapons?"

Wu lowered his head. "You are only at the beginning. And the road is long and winding, but yes, this is what I meant." Wu turned around and began walking away. "If this is what it must take for you to train, then so be it. But since your elements have been chosen for you, none of you are to become the Yellow Ninja. You have to follow what destiny has planned for you." He walked back inside the monastery, Misako and Garmadon following behind him.

Carol crossed her arms. "This is so unfair. Any of us can be pure at heart and have the goodness of light within. How come none of them think so?"

"We all are, Carol," Kitty said, "We have plenty of it. Just not enough for destiny."

"I guess we should just keep training," Nya said, walking back over to the training course, "After all, I'm not convinced that our teachers are telling us the truth."

So none of the girls are destined to become the Yellow Ninja. No matter how much they try to believe they can be.

**NEXT SCENE:**

Over in Jamanakai Village, the citizens were going about their day doing what they usually do. This included Kai who was looking around in the produce stands of the farmers' market. Lloyd was inside the candy store buying all the sweets he could afford, taking all the freedom he could salvage.

One moment the village was quiet and peaceful. The next moment shrieks of terror from the people filled the air as Kai watched them flee into their homes and businesses.

"What in the name of Ninjago?" Kai asked himself.

He looked around the other side of a building and spotted Zelda, the woman his sister mentioned earlier, returning into the village raising havoc and scaring the people.

"Obey the command of the Hypnobrai!" Zelda growled, "They are your rulers! Obey them!" She gives out an evil laugh.

"The Hypnobrai?!" Kai was shocked to the said Serpentine tribe slithering and storming in behind Zelda. He didn't hesitate to rush into the candy store to retrieve Lloyd, who was actually about to walk out after placing his purchases in his backpack. "Let's get out of here!"

"What's going on?" Lloyd asked.

"The Serpentine! Hypnobrai tribe! They're in the village! Let's go!"

The two rushed out of the candy store to leave the village, but Zelda came up to spook them, causing them to turn around and find a place to hide. Lloyd couldn't help but peek back over the boulders he and Kai hid behind and looked at Zelda, not taking his eyes off her. In all his life, he's never seen a girl like her before. So beautiful and smart, but even behind her hypnotic state, she seems like a kind and gentle person. He could've stared at her all day if not for Kai yanking him back down.

"Stay down," Kai warned, "You don't wanna get hypnotized, do you?"

"I've studied these creatures longer than you have," Lloyd said, "I know what to do in case they try to mess with us."

Kai rolled his eyes as he overheard what they were saying.

"What is the plan, General Skales?" Slithraa asked Skales.

"This is my command: hypnotize the surface dwellers and raid the town," Skales said, linking arms with his wife, "Take anything you want. The mistress and I will be taking a little stroll while you all do whatever you please."

"What do you command of me now, General?" Zelda asked. Slithraa rolled his eyes.

"Why don't you go and raid the village of its chocolate supply," Skales suggested. Zelda ran off to do just that.

Skales looked at his second-in-command. "Go out and give my command."

"As you wish, General." Slitheraa turned to the tribe. "Raid the village! Hypnotize the surface dwellers! Do whatever you want!"

"Can we burn down the village?" one of the serpents asked.

"After you raid it, you can."

The Hypnobrai cheered. Kai and Lloyd gave each other worried glances. What were they to do trapped in the village with snakes running around and the citizens roaming the streets in a hypnotic state?

All they could do was wait.

**NEXT SCENE:**

The ninja were oblivious to the dangers in Jamanakai Village as they were training and practicing with their weapons in the proper way. Meanwhile, the sons of the First Spinjitzu Master were inside the monastery meditating to see through the spirit smoke. It began to act strange as it began showing visions of the Hypnobrai attacking Jamanakai Village, also showing Zelda rummaging through chocolate inside the candy store and Kai and Lloyd hiding behind boulders defenseless and with no way to escape. This only meant one thing to them.

The Serpentine have returned.

Both gasping, they jumped up and rushed out of the room. Misako was actually about to enter inside to bring them some tea when they pushed the door open, knocking the teapot and cups on the floor. The brothers scrambled around in a hurry to rush down the hall. Misako asked no questions as she followed behind them.

Outside, the ninja were busy training while Monica was writing in her journal. Wu didn't hesitate to push the doors open while Garmadon ended up knocking him over, the two tumbling to the ground.

Misako rolled her eyes while helping her husband and brother-in-law up. "What has gotten into you two?"

"The Serpentine are back!" the brothers shouted out in unison.

Misako gasped. "Where?"

"In Jamanakai Village!" Garmadon said, "Everyone there is in danger!"

"My teachers, calm yourselves," Kitty said, "The girls and I were just there. It was only a teenage girl passing by and-"

"The spirit smoke does not lie!" Wu said, "An ancient evil has been released!"

"And we saw Lloyd there!" Garmadon said.

Misako gasped. "I thought he was in his room!"

"Wait a minute," Nya said, "Kai said he was going down there and Lloyd went with him."

Kitty gasped in horror. "Kai's in danger?! Come on!" She pulled her hood down and rushed to the dragon cabinets. Carol and Pixal followed suit.

"I suppose Lloyd isn't as important, is he?" Misako asked sternly, placing her hands on her hips.

"We'll come back with them in one piece," Nya promised, pulling her hood down and running off to catch up with the others.

The four ninja mounted their respective dragons and flew off quickly to help the citizens of Jamanakai Village.

"Remember, girls," Nya said, "Like my father always says, 'Stay close, stay together.'"

"Would we do it any other way?" Kitty said.

The ninja arrived a few minutes later to the village to spot some villagers who haven't been hypnotized running away to any place where they feel is safe. Down below they spot Zelda with chocolate bars cradled in her arms.

She giggled, hyperactive from all the sugar she's consumed in her hypnotic state. "Being bad taste so good!" She bit into some chocolate while laughing like crazy. "Oh, this is the life! I refuse to come down from this sugar ride!" She paused as she spotted the ninja in front of her. She smiled menacingly. "Oh, hello, fancy seeing you all again."

"Sorry to interrupt your chocolate break," Kitty said, "But it's time for you to get back to work and face us."

"That is if you don't barf in the next fifteen minutes," Carol said.

"I was given the command to consume the entire village's chocolate supply," Zelda said, stuffing chocolate truffles in her mouth, "And I plan to do just that."

"I sense that the Serpentine have taken control of Zelda and is now fallen under their command," Pixal said.

"Hypnobrai, the ninja are here!" Zelda yelled out.

Skales was walking with his wife when he heard Zelda. "What? Ninja?" He rattled his tail, commanding the hypnotized villagers to fall under his spell. "Seize the ninja!" The Hypnobrai tribe and the villagers came up to surround the ninja.

Nya asked, shocked at the sight she was witnessing. "The Serpentine? They're real?"

"And it ain't just them we have to worry about," Kitty said, pointing at the villagers under the Hypnobrai's command, "The whole village has been hypnotized."

"Stand back," Carol told her team, "I'm gonna see if I can't turn into an elephant and spray some water on these guys to make them snap out of it." Carol thought hard, but Pixal stopped her before she could use her bo staff.

"Please don't," Pixal warned, "Our weapons are too unstable. We can do more harm than good. And we cannot take down the villagers."

"What do we do?" Nya asked.

"I have an idea," Carol said before turning around, gaining speed and yelling out, "RUN!"

The other three went along with Carol's idea and ran. When they made it to the boulders, they jumped behind them and gasped when they saw Kai and Lloyd, safe and unharmed.

Nya grasped them both in a hug. "Kai, Lloyd, you're both okay."

"Barely," Kai said, releasing himself from his sister's tight grip, "They've hypnotized everyone in town."

"Mind control," Carol said, "I've always learned that powerful sorcerers have been able to practice mind control in order to get what they want, but I've never heard of a race of snakes doing that. How is it even possible?"

"When you hear them rattle their tails, don't look them in the eyes," Lloyd explained, "That's how they get you. My theory is that girl with the long blonde hair is the reason why they were let loose from their tomb. She must have let them out and now have her letting them do what they please."

"But she was so sweet and kind when we met her," Carol said, "Why would she do something so cruel as to let the Serpentine roam free?"

"Do you have potatoes clogging your ears?" Kitty said, "She must have walked past their tombstone and fell right in. It was an accident. Nothing more. What's done is done. All we can do is stop them from causing more harm."

"Well, what are we supposed to do? We can't use our weapons, and now we gotta fight with our eyes closed? What do they plan to do next? Burn the village down?"

"Take everything valuable!" Slithraa commands from the center of the village, "General Skales said to lead the villagers to our tomb! Afterwards, burn the village to the ground!"

Carol covered her face with her hands. "Me and my big fat mouth."

"Okay, guys, we need to figure out how to stop these things and save the village," Kitty said, "Lloyd, what else do you know about those slither heads?"

"The snake with the staff is the general," Lloyd explains, "He's the one in charge. If we can get the staff from him, it holds the anti-venom. If we get that, we can save everyone. And if we have the staff, they won't have any control over the humans."

"Okay, girls, listen up," Nya said, "I know Sensei said that none of us are destined to become the Yellow Ninja and we all refuse to believe it, but we just need to forget about the whole thing and do what we were brought together to do. Protect Ninjago and everyone who lives on the land. Let's make our teachers proud."

"Now that's some motivational speaking right there," Kitty said, "And as for you boys, even before we met you and when we met you, we made you both honorary members. So come on out and fight with us."

"Looks like my training's about to finally pay off," Kai said, flexing his muscles.

"It's better than being bored," Lloyd said, "Let's do this."

The Ninja, Kai and Lloyd jumped out from behind the boulders and rush over to the Serpentine and mind controlled villagers.

Nya stood in front of Slithraa, raising her fists up. "You wanna play? How about a little spinjitzu? Ninja Go!" She performs spinjitzu, but because she hasn't practiced or fought in a while, she loses control of it and falls to the ground.

Slithraa laughs. "Is that the best you can do?"

"Wow, our teachers were right," Carol said, "We're really out of shape."

Meanwhile, Zelda was trying to escape to hide with all her chocolate. "Ha! How silly can those ninja be? They should consider this a warning. Never mess with the Serpentine!" She laughs aloud.

It was that moment Lloyd jumped in. "Sorry to ruin the mood, but you've had way too much sugar. Let me take that chocolate off your hands."

Zelda held her bundle of sweets tightly, keeping them away from Lloyd. "No! You can't have them! I was given the command to have all the chocolate!"

"Oh, so it was a command?"

Zelda tried to kick Lloyd, but the grandson of the First Spinjitzu Master grasped her foot. She ended up falling over and dropping all her sweets on the ground. "No! My chocolate!" She tried crawling over to it, but Lloyd refused to let go of her foot. "Unhand me! I need my sweets!"

"I don't wanna hurt you," Lloyd said, "I just wanna help you."

"We all do," Pixal said as she walked over to them, "Let her go, Lloyd."

Lloyd let go of Zelda's foot. The teenage girl got up and dusted herself off. "That's better. Now you!" She pointed at Lloyd. "Pick up my chocolate!"

"I'm afraid he will do no such thing." Pixal threw her sais at the sleeves of Zelda's sweater and pinned her to a building. She spinjitzu over to the teenager. "I apologize for this, but my teachers were right. Never put off until tomorrow what can be done today. We should have dealt with you the first time around and tried to persuade you to pause in pursuing your family. We could have helped you tried to understand."

"General Skales!" Zelda shouted, "Help me! They're trying to steal my chocolate!"

Skales was in the middle of watching the fight with Selma when he heard Zelda's cry for help. "Oh, not even our little human servant was able to handle these pesky ninja."

"What do we do, dear?" Selma asked her husband.

"It seems my plan has worked. This was only a warning to let the surface dwellers know that this is only the beginning."

Slithraa rushed up to the general. "General Skales, the ninja have the higher advantage. What do we do?"

"I'm glad you asked." Skales cleared his throat. "Retreat!"

The Hypnobrai ended the battle and ran off from the village, but not before one of them set a plant on fire. Nya rolled her eyes and used her fans to spray water on the plant to put the fire out.

Skales and Selma were rushing out of the village when Carol came flying in since she had turned into a vulture and snatched the staff from Skales' hand.

Selma rushed up to the girl vulture. "Return that to my husband at once!"

"Go ahead!" Carol transformed back into herself. "Give me a reason." She glared at the female Hypnobrai.

Needless to say, Selma was prepared to glare at Carol as she rattled her tail and forced her eyes into a swirling motion. "Look into my eyes. I control you."

Carol stared at Selma's eyes, giving into her hypnosis. "You control me."

"Carol!" Kai shouted. This gave Carol a chance to regain consciousness as Kai came up and kicked Selma directly in the head. The female snake flew off in the distance, leaving Skales to chase after her. Kai looked at Carol. "You have the anti-venom!" He pointed towards the staff in her hand.

Carol gasped when she finally noticed it. "Yes, I do have it! But what do I do with it?"

"Take it to the fountain!"

The two rushed over to the village fountain, placing the staff on a pole surrounded by the water. The jewel from the staff absorbed the water into the air, spraying the anti-venom to help cleanse the villagers from the hypnosis.

Lloyd and Pixal led Zelda over to the fountain to cure her as well, but she kept squirming in their grasp. "No, stop! Let me go! I want my chocolate!"

"Okay, I think it's time we get you back to normal," Lloyd said.

Pixal splashed some water on Zelda's face and turned the teenage girl back to normal. Zelda gasped as she looked around. "Where am I? What's going on?"

"You were under the hypnosis of the Hypnobrai," Pixal said.

"Care to explain what happened?" Nya asked.

Zelda sighed. "I cannot tell a lie. I will admit that I discovered the tomb of the Hypnobrai tribe. I promise you all that I had no intentions for any of this happening. I walked away, but I ended up falling them. The last thing I remembered was hypnotized by the tribe leader. Oh, I feel so ashamed for what I have done." She placed her head in her hands.

"We all make mistakes," Carol said, placing a hand on the teenage girl's shoulder, "What matters is you learn from them. And the lesson to learn here is to never go near a Serpentine tomb."

"Well, I appreciate you telling me that. It does make me feel better in a way." Zelda groaned a bit as she began fanning herself. "I thank you all for saving me and everyone here. We all appreciate what you are doing for Ninjago. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to find an inn to stay at. I'm not feeling too well."

"Why don't you come stay with us?" Lloyd asked, his cheeks blushing a bit.

Zelda giggled. "I do thank you for your hospitality, but I think I'm fine staying somewhere on my own. I do need some peace and quiet. I do hope to see you all again soon. Farewell until we meet again." She then rushes off. Her stomach was queasy after all that chocolate she consumed.

"I see the mission was a success." The ninja turned around to see Misako, along with Wu and Garmadon.

"Yes," Nya said, "But there's something we want to say, my teachers. We're sorry about before. If we had only tried to make Zelda understand what was really going on with her family and have her come with us, none of this would've been necessary."

"I guess some people are just too darn stubborn," Kitty said.

"Apology accepted, girls," Garmadon said, "Even lessons learned the hard way are lessons learned." He noticed his brother was deep in thought. "What is it, brother?"

Wu sighed. "A great evil has been released. I fear troubling times will come. This is only the beginning. Many unexpected issues will arise."

"Then we will train and be ready for the Serpentine, my teachers," Pixal said, "It may not be Princess Marga, but that doesn't mean we won't bring our A-game."

"I taught her to say A-game," Nya bragged. Then she got serious. "But she's right, my teachers. We want to be ready to face these Serpentine. Help us train. Help us realize our potential. And we promise that we'll learn."

"Oh, pretty please teach us!" Carol begged, lowering on her knees, "Teach us the secrets behind the weapons of life! Teach us more fighting techniques! Teach us your ways! And I promise we will do everything you want us to do! I just want to embrace my inner powers!" Then she took out Theodore from her bag and started talking like him. "We want to become true ninja!"

Misako giggled. "Well, there is much to teach. We must return to the monastery. It's time to begin training."

The ninja rushed over to mount their dragons, making Kai pout and roll his eyes. "I wonder when I'm gonna get my own dragon."

"Patience, Kai," Wu said, walking beside Kai, "Your time will come."

"Oh, yeah? When?"

Wu only smiled. "Like I said. Your time will come."

Walking behind them was Garmadon. Lloyd rushed up to him and handed him a box. The grey-haired man examined it. "What is this?"

"A box of lemon honey tea," Lloyd said, "Thought I'd do something nice for a change. Plus, I still have something." Lloyd help up another handheld video game.

Garmadon sighed, taking the game from him. "Lloyd, if this is about wanting to fight, I think it's time you knew. Your time has already come. You just need to have confidence in yourself. But I only punished you for fighting someone that had triple the amount of strength. You have to start off small before you can advance to stronger opponents. And I think the Serpentine is a good place to start."

"Well, at least I get to do something other than video games. And speaking on that subject..."

Garmadon chuckled. "Not going to happen."

Lloyd sighed while following his father to the dragons.

The first mission became a success. Or did it?

**NEXT SCENE:**

Back inside the tomb of the Hypnobrai, Skales was sitting on his throne with Selma by his side, an ice pack placed on her head. Slithraa was standing next to Skales as any good second-in-command would do.

Skales sighed. "It is official. We have been set free."

"But what about that girl?" Selma asked, "She set us free. We should send scouts out to find her. She may be able to help us understand the surface better. It has changed since we were last there."

"The girl is of no use to us anymore, my dear. She is only a mere human and was no use to us."

"Besides, she wasn't one of us," Slithraa said, "She fell right into our trap. We hypnotized her to trick her into taking us into the surface world. You, General Skales, are brilliant."

"He certainly is," Selma said, placing a scaly hand on her husband's shoulder, "And I promise we will get your staff back. You may not be holding it now, but you are still in charge."

"Shall we form a plan to retrieve the staff?" Slithraa asked.

"Oh, go ahead," Skales said, "It will finally give you something to do."

Once Slithraa rushed off, Selma giggled. "Can you imagine what would happen if he ever became the general? It was incredible how you defeated his father."

"The poor slithering is too scared," Skales said, "He would not be able to lead anyone in battle. But he is too scared to disobey me and works hard. I will give him credit for that. I still can't believe you hypnotized one of the ninja. I am so proud of you, my mistress."

"Don't you worry, my dear," Selma said, "I now hold the key to help us destroy the ninja. Now the surface dwellers will see who should really be in charge of Ninjago."

The snake couple laugh wickedly as Selma looked through the eyes of Carol to spy on the ninja.

Oh, how wicked the Serpentine are...

* * *

**Japanese for levitate: ****Fujō**

* * *

**HEY, GUYS. I AM HERE WITH ANOTHER GREAT CHAPTER FOR YOU. TELL ME SOME DIFFERENCES IN THE REVIEWS. ALSO, YOU GOT TO KNOW A COUPLE OF THINGS FROM A CHARACTER OR TWO. JUST TELL ME THOSE TOO IF YOU WANT.**

**ALSO, GUYS, I WANT TO THANK YOU GUYS FOR ANOTHER AMAZING YEAR. AND MY CHRISTMAS PRESENT TO ALL OF YOU THIS YEAR IS ANOTHER GREAT CHAPTER FOR ANOTHER AMAZING STORY. AND I PROMISE TO HAVE MORE FOR YOU.**

**I WANT EVERYONE TO HAVE A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR. MAY YOU THANK GOD FOR BRINGING HIS BELOVED SON TO EARTH AND SAVING US FROM EVIL AND HELPING US TO STAY IN THE LIGHT. **

**AND ALSO, YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST.**

**MAY THIS CHAPTER WARM YOUR HEART FOR THE HOLIDAYS.**

**PLEASE REVIEW.**


	3. S1 E3: A Strange Teammate

S1 E3

A STRANGE TEAMMATE

Three days have passed since the ninja fought against the Hypnobrai. Since then they have been training more with their weapons and with their strength.

Inside the meditation room, the brothers of the First Spinjitzu Master were meditating by the spirit smoke. But only a moment of peace was given when they heard the voices of the only two teenage boys in the monastery.

"Hey, give me that!" Lloyd shouted, "It's my turn!"

"Alright!" Kai said, "You ready to fight?"

"You know it! I bet I'll beat you this time!"

"You're on, greenie!"

Garmadon grew concerned that his son would be once again disobeying him and playing video games when he wasn't supposed to. He picked himself up off the floor and left the room, heading to the video game room. Just before he could start chewing out his son, he opened the door to find nobody inside. He then went inside his and Misako's bedroom to make sure the video game console was still in its safe place. He sighed a breath of relief to see it still sitting on the top shelf of the closet.

_Where else could Lloyd be? _Garmadon thought. Then he heard voices again. But he also heard the sound of metal clanging against metal.

"Oh, come on!" Kai yelled out, "I can make swords that hit better than yours."

"Duck and cover!" Lloyd said, "That's what I call a ninja roll!"

The sounds and voices led Garmadon to the weapons room, the place where the ninja can go to practice sword fighting. They can't always rely on their elemental weapons and will need to learn how to use normal weaponry. Opening the door, he is surprised and glad to see his son training in the art of sword fighting. He could even see Lloyd using some moves he taught him to do. And it amused him watching Kai struggling to keep up.

"Dude, what do call those moves you're doing?" Kai asked, panting, "You've hardly used your sword."

"You only use your sword when you don't have much of a choice," Lloyd explained while continuing to fight, "There were a few time you gave me no choice, but I had to trick you into letting me continue sword fighting without sword fighting. My father calls it the art of the silent sword."

Kai finally looked in the doorway and spotted Garmadon. "Speaking of your dad, guess who just joined the audience?"

Lloyd paused in the battle to see his dad and sighed. "Don't tell me I'm punished from training."

Garmadon shook his head. "Not at all. Keep up the good work. Just don't hurt yourselves." He closed the door to let them continue.

He decided to go check on the girls to see their progress. When he goes to the training compound, he is happy to see the ninja training to keep up their strength and to keep their powers in check. Carol is using her animal powers to deflect arrows from hitting her by transforming into a turtle and hiding in her shell to protect herself. Kitty is shooting arrows at targets, hitting the bulls eye every time. Nya is practicing her spinjitzu on the dummies and Pixal is meditating by the poles.

Garmadon looked to see Monica sitting on the swinging bench writing in her journal. He never knew what she wrote about, but he aimed to find out. But before he could sneak over to spy on her, she closed the book and said, "Hey, Uncle Garmie."

Garmadon jumped a bit before replying. "Hello, Monica. What brings you out here?"

Monica shrugged. "Nothing much. Just writing and watching them train. And before you ask, what I write about is none of your business."

"Well, I wasn't going to ask you about that." That was a lie. He was going to ask her about that, but it was better to change the subject. "I was going to ask you if you would like to train. Maybe to become a strong fighter one day."

"Would if I could, but my dad won't let me. You know how tense he gets whenever I bring the subject up in front of him. I just don't understand why he won't let me fight. It's not like I'm gonna get hurt or something."

It was that moment when Pixal suddenly sprang up from her meditation position and ends up unexpectedly attacking and disturbing the other ninja. She starts by jumping in front of Carol, deflecting the arrows with her sais.

Carol quickly turned back into her human form. "Hey! I'm trying to train!"

Pixal then rushes over to Kitty and steals her bow and arrows and begins shooting the arrows at the practice dummies.

"Pixal, what the heck are you doing?" Kitty asked.

"Ninja Go!" Pixal shouted, using her spinjitzu to create a garden around the entire compound. This caused Nya to be standing in the spot of a growing tree, holding tightly onto the branches as it grew.

"Pixal!" Nya screamed.

Monica and Garmadon watched the whole thing, looking at one another in confusion.

"I can promise you one thing," Monica said, "If I do ever start training, I won't ever do something like that." She opened her journal and began scribbling in it once again.

Kitty and Carol had no idea what just happened. All Kitty could say was, "What was that for, Pixal?"

Pixal spun her sais around, looking at her teammates. "Expect the unexpected." She went back to resume training.

"Hello?" Nya called from above them, "Someone get me down from here!"

Carol used her feeling of being strong to turn into an elephant, using her trunk to wrap around Nya's waist and bring her down to solid ground. She then turned back to her normal self. The three regrouped as they discussed what just happened with Pixal.

"You know, this training course isn't big enough for the four of us," Nya said.

"No, that's not it," Kitty said, "This training course isn't big enough for Pixal."

"I'm not saying this to be rude or anything, but Pixal seems to go off into her own little world," Carol said, "Although, I shouldn't really be saying that. I go off into my own little world all the time. And my world is filled with world peace and animals and music and chocolate and-"

"Would you just get to the point?" Kitty snapped.

"Okay, you don't have to get all snappy," Carol said, "Needless to say, Pixal goes off into her own little world." Then she walks over and takes her stuffed bear Theodore from sitting right next to Monica on the bench and brings him back to the group. She starts talking in a squeaky voice. "Do you hear us, Pixal? I bet you can't hear us because you have potatoes in your ears!"

Kitty groaned. "What are you, five years old or something?"

"And where did you hear that saying from?" Nya asked.

"My aunt taught me that saying," Carol said, "And to answer your question, Kitty, I'm fifteen years old. You are so forgetful."

Wu and Misako came outside, following Garmadon as they approached Nya, Carol and Kitty. Misako smiled. "I see you all are working better to be in tune with your powers."

"We would be if Little Miss Weirdo over there didn't take up the whole training compound," Kitty said.

Nya sighed. "I hate to agree with Kitty, but I will admit that Pixal is strange."

"What is strange?" Wu asked, "Someone who is different or someone who is different than you?"

"No, me teachers," Kitty shook her head, "We mean 'strange' strange."

"As in she's probably an alien from another planet," Carol said, fear in her voice. Everyone stared at her. She clutched her stuffed bear in her arms. "It could be a possibility. I'll never forget the time she waltzed into the bathroom while I was trying to shower."

* * *

_Carol was in the bathroom showering while singing a tune. Pixal wandered inside with her hairbrush in hand, stood in front of the mirror and began brushing her hair. Carol had just turned the shower off and was beginning to pull aside the shower curtain when she noticed Pixal inside and pulled it back to cover herself._

_"Pixal!" Carol shouted, "What are you doing in here?"_

_"I am just completing my morning procedures," Pixal said, "I don't see why you feel mortified. We are both the same gender."_

_"I would rather not 'show off.' Please leave."_

_Pixal shrugged as she picked up her hairbrush and walked out of the bathroom. She passed by Kai as he was about to go inside when he noticed Carol inside. She screamed as he quickly shut the door, thankful that she was already wrapped up in a towel._

* * *

Carol shuddered from the thought. "I can't stand others seeing me without fabric on my body."

Nya crossed her arms. "Well, I'll never forget how she reacted towards a sad movie."

* * *

_Nya was sitting on the couch in the living room watching one of her favorite romance movie. She was crying through a sad part in the movie where the woman's husband has to leave for war and keeps begging him not to go. Pixal walks in and sits next to a hysterical Nya._

_"What are you watching?" Pixal asked._

_"War Never Separates Love," Nya said through her sobs, "It's one of my favorite movies. I'm watching the part where her husband's leaving for war, but she doesn't want him to leave."_

_"Why?"_

_"Well, no wife wants her husband to go to war. Plus she has another reason. After he leaves, she says in the empty room that she's expecting their child."_

_Pixal suddenly burst out laughing. Nya just gives her a stern look as she turns off the TV and storms out of the room. She knew Pixal would never fully understand a romance movie._

* * *

Nya rolled her eyes. "Romance movies are supposed to warm your heart. It's not funny unless it's a romantic comedy."

"You think that's bad?" Kitty said, placing her hands on her hips, "You won't believe what she did to me yesterday morning. Trust me, that was the seventh weirdest thing I ever saw in me life."

* * *

_Kitty had just rolled out of bed, her hair a complete mess and her night clothes wrinkled as she wobbled her way into the kitchen to scour the refrigerator for breakfast. When she opened the refrigerator door, she jumped at the sight she saw inside. "Holy Sensei!" Then she sighs in relief seeing it was only Pixal, but she then wonders how on earth the nature ninja got inside the fridge. "Pixal, what are you doing?"_

_"I was just going to apologize and let you know that I have consumed all the deli meat," Pixal explained, "Would you care for some cheese instead?"_

_Kitty groaned as she closed the refrigerator door, grabbing the loaf of bread from the counter and walking over to the toaster. The day just became weird._

* * *

They all watched Pixal examine one of the training equipments and ended up getting smacked in the forehead with a wooden cutout of a sword. She didn't even react to the impact. The ninja gave her strange looks.

"Don't get us wrong," Nya said, "We love Pixal like a sister. She's really smart and caring, but she can be a little off sometimes."

"Pixal is a sister and sisters are often different," Misako said, "I have had sisters myself so I should know."

The three looked at their teachers for a moment when the doorbell rang. That only meant one thing: "Mail's here!"

The three rushed over to the door, opening them up and crowding around the postman. He backed away a bit to look through his bag. "Alright, let's see what's in here for you ladies. There's a letter in here from Kitty's parents. Nya, you and Kai have a package from your parents. Here's something from your brothers, Carol. And I think you have a package in here somewhere."

"Oh, yay!" Carol exclaimed, "I just joined this group called Creatures, Beasts, and Beyond and once every two weeks they send me samples of Crystal's favorite food."

"Ah, yes, here it is," said the postman, handing Carol the package.

"Oh, Crystal is gonna be so excited!" Carol walked away with her package.

The postman stopped Kitty and Nya. "Just a moment. Pixal wouldn't happen to be here, would she?"

Pixal walked up at that exact moment. "Yes, I'm here. Do you have something for me?"

"Well, yes, but not with me at the moment," the postman said, "You'll have to come down to the post office in Jamanakai Village to pick it up. Here's your notice." He handed Pixal a pink notice sheet. He then scrounged around in his bag and handed Kitty some envelopes. "These are just a couple of bills. You ladies have a good day."

Nya closed the door, but Pixal stopped her before she could shut it all the way. "Wait, Nya. Will you accompany me to the post office? I would like to see what my father sent to me."

"You know the package is from your dad?" Nya asked.

"Of course. His packages tend to be overweight and can't be sent through regular delivery. I have had to go pick them up before."

"Well, okay." Nya followed Pixal out the door as she called out to her teachers. "We'll be back from the village in a bit." She closed the door behind her.

Kitty walked past Garmadon and stuck some bills in his hands. "Here's your bills."

Garmadon groaned, sorting through the bills. "Water bill, electric bill, cable bill. Why is it that we get a bill for everything in this world? When I was a boy, this monastery didn't have an ounce of electricity in it. If we needed light, we used the sun to give it to us and at night we used candles to light our way through the dark. And without electricity, we didn't have cable. We didn't have televisions back in my days. If we wanted entertainment, we went outside and did some fishing or we were training to learn the way of the ninja. And when we weren't doing any of that, we were inside drawing pictures or reading books or playing with toys or making up stories using our old socks as puppets." Little did he know that Theodore was right behind his shoulder. "And what is it with charging us with water? Back in my day, we had to go outside and gather water from the well. Why I remember the times my father sent me out to collect water. That gave me something to do when I was bored. There was always something to keep you busy with."

"Wow, how interesting," Carol said in a squeaky voice.

Garmadon jumped and turned around to find Carol kneeling on the ground holding Theodore up to face Garmadon. The old man glared at the stuffed animal. "I'm watching you, Theodore." He walked away and headed back inside the monastery.

Carol rushed off with Theodore to the dragon cabinets where she stood in front of Crystal holding the package. "Oh, Crystal! Guess what came in?"

"My favorite dish?" Crystal asked.

"Oh, you!" Carol held it out. "Liver and toads! No dragon can resist it!" She throws it in Crystal's mouth.

Water Lily groans. "I wish I could have some of that. But Nya insist on feeding me fish."

Carol giggles. Little does she know that her eyes are being used as a spy tool for a certain creature.

**NEXT SCENE**:

Sitting on a vine-made throne in a tree fortress, Selma is seeing exactly what Carol is doing and is showing it to another one of her Hypnobrai friends, who happens to be the wife of Slithraa. Her name was Riddla with scales a darker shade of blue with green and yellow linings. She even wore a necklace with a gold chain and a yellow gemstone.

"I can't believe you hypnotized one of the ninja," Riddla said, "Does your husband know?"

"Well, of course he knows," Selma said, "I hypnotized that little brat to try and take the staff back, but their boy ally had to go and kick me right in the head. Oh, that human girl that we used should have been doing her job. But she ended up getting captured."

"Well, it seems your husband is doing whatever you want. Maybe you could try and persuade him to go after that girl and teach her a lesson. You could even go against her in..." Riddla leans over to whisper in front of Selma. "...the Slither Pit."

Selma shakes her head. "That will never work. Skales won't agree with it. Females cannot go against one another in the Slither Pit. Female serpents are not allowed to fight. It is our customs."

"And yet he builds you this playhouse."

"This is no playhouse! This is my dream fortress. I had always wanted one and now that we have entered the surface world, I finally get to have it."

"And have it you will, my love," said Skales as he slithered up to the two females, "I see you two are having a nice conversation."

"Yes, General Skales," Riddla said, "But I best be slithering along now. I need to go check on the children." She walked away from Skales and Selma.

Skales cleared his throat. "My scaly dear, the fortress is looking wonderful. Is there anything else that needs to be done to make your dream fortress a dream come true?"

"Well, I want to make sure those pesky ninja don't come anywhere near this place," Selma explained, "We need to secure it. Place some booby traps on every floor. And make sure you add a trap door." She giggled. "I just love trap doors."

"Whatever you say, dear. I will make it happen."

Selma sighed. "My husband, you know I am most loyal to you and love you through thick and thin, but I must ask you something that you may refuse. You see, ever since our last encounter with the ninja, I have been thinking about that girl we captured to bring us up here. How she failed us by getting captured."

"That was entirely my fault. I have never forgiven myself for that." Skales placed a hand on his wife's.

"I can help you with that. I want you to find the girl and capture her again, hypnotize her once more and command her to retrieve the staff from the ninja. Then we bring her back to our tomb, you can reverse the hypnosis on her and I can go against her in the Slither Pit. And I will make sure to win."

"What will the winner get?"

"Victory, my love. But I will make a deal with her. If she wins, she can leave and we will leave her alone forever, but if she loses, she will forever be our prisoner."

"I can hardly wait!"

The two gave a wicked laugh before kissing one another passionately. They can already tell that life is going well for them. Or will it?

**NEXT SCENE**:

Over in Jamanakai Village, all is calm and peaceful with the villagers going about their day. The day went pretty normal at the post office as Nya and Pixal walked out with a heavy package. It was too big to carry so they pretty much had to push it over to Blossom. They lifted it up together and set it on the dragon's back, making her grunt.

"Be careful," Blossom said, "I'm not hard bone, you know."

"Sorry about that," Nya said, "But we'll get it off your back once we get home."

"I cannot believe my own two eyes," said a voice behind them, "I never thought I would see the day where I saw a dragon speaking." Nya and Pixal turned around and spotted Zelda coming up to them. "Good to see you two again."

"Zelda," Pixal said, "I figured you had resumed on your journey."

"Oh, that hypnosis left me bedridden for two whole days," Zelda explained, "Then I stayed an extra day studying away at the library. But I plan to resume my journey as of now."

"Are you sure about that?" Nya asked, "It's already the afternoon. Maybe you wouldn't mind staying the night with us? Pixal's cooking dinner and she can make one awesome meatloaf."

"Speaking of dinner, we best hurry back so I can prepare it," Pixal said, mounting on Blossom, "Do you plan to come along with us?"

"As much as I would love to, I'm afraid I must continue on," Zelda declined, "I'm already behind schedule. I don't want to keep my sister and grandmother waiting. Goodbye, dear friends. I hope to see you again another day." She starts heading towards the exit of the village.

Nya rolled her eyes. "Sweet girl and all, but she is so stubborn. Let's go."

The two flew back to the monastery where Pixal sat the package in her room, promising to open it when she got a chance. It was time to make dinner. Pixal had a culinary achievement for a meal that consist of meatloaf, shrimp, sharp cheddar hash browns, mixed vegetables, salad, and for dessert, strawberry shortcake. And after four hours in the kitchen, it was complete. Now it was time to set it on the table where the teachers, ninja, Kai, Lloyd and Monica gathered, conversing as dinner was being set on the table.

"Oh, I await the nights when it's Pixal's turn to cook," Carol said.

Kitty crossed her arms. "I don't get why you all get excited about Pixal's cooking. Okay, I'll admit, she's a great cook. I enjoy everything she makes. I'll pretty much eat anything. I've eaten worms straight from the dirt when I got hungry enough."

"Eww!" Carol cried out.

"Kitty, can you refrain from causing everyone to puke their guts out?" Nya said.

"Well, I didn't hear a single nice thing about me shepherd's pie last night," Kitty complained.

"Well, who would say something nice about it," Carol said, "You can't mix ground beef and mashed potatoes together and hope that tomato sauce will make it taste better. And what was the point of putting shrimp and baby corn in it? That type of food is what I call goulash."

Kitty glared at Carol. "I used the leftover that nobody would ever eat from the other night. That's how you make a shepherd's pie!"

"I thought it was good," Kai said nonchalantly.

Nya rolled her eyes. "You'll eat anything that looks edible."

Carol shook her head. "Just don't ever make it again."

Pixal entered the dining room, holding out a pan that held the meatloaf as she set it on the table, smiling at everyone. "Dinner is served." She stared at them as they all sat there in silence for a moment before everyone except the teachers and Monica burst out laughing. Pixal didn't understand what was so humorous and finally decided to ask them. "What's so funny?"

"Pixal, you're wearing a..." Kai paused as he was still laughing. "My own mother wouldn't even wear that."

Pixal looked down at the apron she was wearing. It was light blue with flowers and butterflies embroidered on it. This still confused her. "You laugh because I take steps to ensure I'm clean after cooking? There is no shame to an apron."

"The apron is the reason why we're laughing," Nya said, "You came out wearing it and it looks so ridiculous."

"It is not ridiculous," Monica said, "I should know because I made it myself. It was a project from my home economics class." Everyone just began laughing again. Monica finally had enough. _They want humor. I'll show them humor._ She looked at Pixal. "Do you think any of this is funny, Pixal?"

"Well, it seems funny to them," Pixal said, "But I don't see anything about it that is considered funny. I guess we don't share the same sense of humor."

"Okay then." Monica picked up a plate of shrimp. _Please forgive me for this, Pixal._ She walked over to Nya. "Maybe you'll find this funny." She smacks the plate of shrimps in Nya's face, causing everyone to laugh all over again.

Misako saw where Monica was going with this and pick up the bowl of strawberry filling. She walked over to Carol as the mistress of animal sorcery was trying to get through to the nature ninja. "How did you not find that funny?" Without warning, Misako pours the bowl of strawberry filling on Carol's head, causing her to scream. "Ahhh! My hair!"

Misako chuckled, placing her hands on Carol and Pixal's shoulders. "Now you are sisters."

Everyone began throwing dinner at one another, causing a food fight to erupt. Pixal was confused by this and was saddened to see all the food she spent time to prepare was being wasted all because it was comical. She finally had enough. Taking the apron off, she threw it on the floor and ran out of the dining room. But nobody seemed to noticed since they were too busy having fun.

The nature ninja rushed outside into the garden, kneeling in front of a cherry blossom tree that was no longer in bloom as the blossoms were falling off, calling for winter to take away its beauty. Pixal sat there, trying to hide away from the others in high hopes they don't find her. They would never understand. She would never understand. She was different and had her reasons why. Why couldn't they see that?

"Why can't they understand?" Pixal asked herself. She looked up at the tree, placing her hand on the branches and feeling its comfort. "I wish I could be more like you. Strong and sturdy. Comforting and kind to nature. You can endure any season." She hugs the tree. "I wish I wasn't so different."

_But that is who you are_, said a voice.

Pixal gasped, jumping up on her feet. "Who said that?"

_I did_.

Pixal looked around, but didn't see anyone. "I can't see you. Where are you?"

_I am right in front of you._

Pixal looked in front of her to see only the tree. That's when she quickly put two and two together. "You are the tree, aren't you?"

_Yes,_ said the cherry blossom tree, _It is me. You are the Mistress of Nature. You have the ability to speak to plants, but we can only communicate with you in your mind, whether you speak aloud or through your mind. We can understand you either way. _

"This is amazing." Pixal smiled. "I apologize for my behavior a moment ago. I was feeling saddened and confused. My friends, they don't understand me. I know I am different, but they shouldn't have to force me to enjoy the things in the way they do. I just wish there was something I could do to show them I can be just like them. If that will make them happy."

_We know who you are, Pixal,_ the tree said, _You must give them time. They will come around sooner or later. But there is trouble about and a pair of eyes is sitting upon my branch to lead the way._

Pixal looked above her and there, perched atop the branch, was a beautiful robin with a brown feathered body and a red feathered belly. She looked down at Pixal, using one wing to wave at the human. Pixal waved back. She moved her head side to side, the robin doing the same. She even did a twirl, to which the bird did the exact same thing.

Pixal smiled. "You seem to be very unique. Just like me."

The robin then begins flying away, making Pixal curious and following after it. The two race through the gardens and then through the woods outside Jamanakai Village. There the robin rested on a branch, pointing through an opening behind the trees. Before Pixal could walk over to see what the robin wanted her to find, she heard rustling in the bushes. She had forgotten her sais at home, leaving her defenseless.

But the only person that came out of the bushes was Zelda, removing leaves from her hair. "I love nature, but I would love it more as long as it is not in my hair." She gasped as she saw who was in front of her. "We must have a knack for bumping into each other."

"Shh!" Pixal shushed the teenage girl.

"What is it?"

Pixal motioned for Zelda to silently walk forward to look behind the trees. What they saw was a giant fortress being constructed by the Hypnobrai. And sitting on a throne made of vines was Selma, enjoying the night air.

"I better not see one human in here unless they are hypnotized by us," Selma told her husband.

"Anything you say, my love," Skales said.

"I can't believe this," Zelda said, "Their misery here in the surface must be stopped."

"I suggest you come with me to the monastery," Pixal recommended, "I don't want you getting captured by them again."

Zelda shook her head. "I will be careful this time. I promise. But I must go. Farewell until we meet again." She walks away once more, continuing on her journey.

Pixal shook her head and looked up in the trees, smiling at the robin. "Thank you, my mysterious friend." She began her journey back to the monastery.

She entered back into the garden where she noticed the ninja looking around as if looking for something that is lost. They looked in front of them and shouted out, "Pixal!" They rushed over to hug her tightly.

Pixal was happy to know her friends were there whenever she needed them. "What is going on?"

"We've spent half the night looking for you," Nya said.

"You had us worried sick," Carol said, "We thought the aliens had abducted you."

"Where did you go?" Kitty asked.

"It is a long story, but I found out where the Hypnobrai are," Pixal said, "They are in the woods outside Jamanakai Village. And they were building a fortress."

"Those slither heads aren't taking over Ninjago under our watch," Kitty said, "Let's go inform our teachers. We're going to kick some butt tomorrow."

Let's hope they win. Or else they'll risk losing everything...

* * *

**WELL, GUYS, PIXAL IS THE STAR OF THIS EPISODE AND PROBABLY WILL BE IN THE NEXT EPISODE. DON'T FORGET TO LET ME KNOW WHAT YOUR FAVORITE PART/PARTS ARE. AND SPOT THE DIFFERENCE FROM THIS CHAPTER TO THE TELEVISION SERIES.**

**I HOPE YOU GUYS HAD A WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS. AND I HOPE YOU GUYS HAVE A HAPPY NEW YEAR. SHARE YOUR RESOLUTIONS IF YOU WANT IN THE REVIEWS. I CAN'T BELIEVE 2020 IS ALMOST HERE. ISN'T THAT AWESOME?**

**GUYS, I PROMISE TO GO BACK TO THANKING REVIEWERS WHEN I CAN. I JUST HAVEN'T HAD THE TIME, BUT I PROMISE TO DO SO FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER.**

**I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS CHAPTER. AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!**

**PLEASE REVIEW.**


	4. S1 E4: A Loss Can Gain More

S1 E4

A LOSS CAN GAIN MORE

The next day, Pixal led her team through the forest and continued until they made it to the clearing where Pixal swore to them the Hypnobrai were building the fortress. They peeked over the trees to see if she were right, but they just couldn't find a thing.

Nya rolled her eyes. "I don't even think Pixal knows where she's going. I feel like she's taking us on a wild goose chase." She walked over to Pixal. "Pixal, can you tell us again how you stumbled upon the Hypnobrai's secret headquarters?"

Pixal smiled. "Simple. I followed a bird."

"Why did you follow a bird?" Kitty asked.

"Because the bird was unique. Just like me."

"Oh, I can guess which bird it is," Carol said, using her powers to turn into different birds, "Was it a blue bird? Or a yellowhammer? Maybe a cuckoo bird?"

"There are actually such things as cuckoo birds?" Kitty asked Carol.

"Of course there are. I've studied them."

"Well, you are correct about the blue bird and the yellowhammer being indigenous to these forests," Pixal explained, "But I'm afraid to say that cuckoo birds are not."

"So what kind of bird did you follow?" Nya asked.

"A robin," Pixal answered.

The ninja were stunned by this fact, but decided to forget about it and continue on with the mission. They looked through some more trees until they finally spotted a clearing where the Hypnobrai were busy with the construction of the fortress.

Down on the first floor was Skales giving out orders. "Put the vines up there! A little to the left! Come now, everyone! We need this fortress to be completed by the end of the day! This is no time for a lunch break, you two! You can eat later! Let's hustle, my tribe!"

Carol gasped. "Oh, my gosh. What is that thing?"

"Looks like flower girl was right," Kitty said.

"We can't let those slither heads get a foothold of Ninjago," Nya said, "We gotta destroy that thing before it becomes operational."

"Are you sure we should do that?" Carol asked, "I think that if I can turn into a wild animal, I could scare the Hypnobrai away and we can take over the fortress and have all the fun we want. Just look at it. This is literally your dream tree house. There's a ropes course and a tree swing. It's perfect for us. What do you think, Kitty?"

"It does look like fun." She knocks herself in the head with her hands. "What am I saying? And what are you saying, Carol? You need to remember who's team you're on." She sighed. "Alright, what do we need to do?"

Nya examined the structure of the fortress and noticed its support system. "It looks like the entire place is being supported by those three trees." She pointed to the trees that had ropes tied around them. "Once those ties are severed, the whole thing is gonna fall like a house of cards."

"But why would one make a house of cards?" Pixal asked, "Such construction would be careless. Many people build houses out of bricks or cinder blocks. The first houses were built with straws and logs. Trees can be used as a structure to build homes."

"Pixal, what Nya was-" Carol started to say until Kitty covered her mouth.

"Probably best to say nothing," Kitty said, "Remember girls: travel in the shadows."

The ninja sneak away from their hiding spot and start to quietly make their way over to the fortress. Nya severs a rope and uses it to swing into the tree house. Kitty hides underneath the elevator while it goes up, doing her best not to get caught. Pixal and Carol decide to climb a tree, to which Carol turns into a squirrel to climb and only be known as an innocent animal.

The three of them hide behind some equipment while watching Selma walk around checking on the progress. She walks over to her husband. "It's almost finished. Soon, our fortress will be complete."

"I thought it was yours," Skales said.

"What's the point in having this wonderful place if I have no one to share it with? I need you, my love." Selma cuddled up with her husband.

Skales chuckled. "Well, whatever you say, dear."

Selma looked over at a Hypnobrai soldier and called out to him. "You there! Could you hold up that sign for me? It's right behind you."

The soldier holds up a sign that says "No Surface Dwellers or Ninja Allowed." Selma pulls a lever to test the booby trap. Seeing the trap door work successfully, the soldier fell and landed on the ground. He got up and shouted, "It works!"

While Selma was busy testing out her trap, this gave the ninja a chance to climb to the top of the tree house and reach for the poles. They finally had the opportunity to cut the ropes.

"Ninja Go!" Carol shouted, using Spinjitzu to sever the first rope.

"Ninja Go!" Pixal shouted, doing the same to the second rope.

The fortress begins to stumble after two of the ropes were cut. Hypnobrai began falling out and hitting the ground. Selma and Skales both held onto each other as they grabbed the nearest pole. They looked up to see Nya on top of the tree house.

"I said no ninja!" Selma shouted.

"We must do something, my love," Skales said, "We can still save the fortress if we can stop them."

Selma gasped. "I just remembered something! I need you to give me a boost!"

"Okay," Skales said, unsure of what his wife wanted to do, but if she had a plan, then he would take her word for it. He helped her on his shoulders and rose her up to the roof.

She hissed at the ninja. "Guess who?"

Nya gasped. "You! We'll stop you!"

"No, you won't," Selma said, "Not until you get through her first." She pointed at Carol.

Carol pointed to herself. "Me?"

Selma laughed wickedly and used her hypnosis on Carol to place the girl in a trance. "You will obey my every command."

"I will obey your every command," Carol said.

Kitty grew angry and grabbed Selma by her pearls. "You hypnotized our friend? Well, how about I teach you a lesson?" Kitty threw Selma over the side of the tree house, causing her to slide down over on top of the trap door and fall through it, landing in a cage.

Skales jumped down and rushed to her aid. "My mistress, are you alright?"

"I'll be fine once you get me out of here!" Selma yelled.

Skales opened the door and helped her out. "I promise we'll build you a new fortress. One even better than this one."

"Forget about it! Let's just go! We must retrieve the staff!" Selma rushed off with Scales following behind.

The ninja were busy trying to find a way off the fortress, but they couldn't leave without Carol.

"Where's Carol?" Kitty asked, "We need to find her and get off this thing before it collapses."

"Not gonna happen!" Carol yelled out, jumping in front of them with her eyes swirling under the hypnosis, "No one goes anywhere until you deal with me!"

"Carol, what has gotten into you?" Nya asked.

"She's under the control of the Hypnobrai," Pixal said, "They must have hypnotized her during our last battle against them."

"Well she better snap out of it quick because this whole place looks like it's about to go down!" Kitty shouted, "And I don't plan on dying just yet!" She walked up a bit closer to her hypnotized friend. "Come on now, Carol. You don't want to fight us. Friends don't hurt friends." It was that line that made Carol kick Kitty hard in the cheek, probably causing a bruise underneath. She shook it off. "That hurts, but I'm gonna be nice and ignore that."

"I don't know what to do," Nya said, "If I use my fans, this place will flood faster than an entire city."

"Wait a minute," Pixal said, "I had forgotten about the anti-venom. Isn't it in the staff?"

"Yes, but the staff is back at the monastery." Nya groaned. "I knew we should have brought it with us."

Carol uses her bo staff to push Nya aside, causing the water ninja to slide down. Pixal came up just in time to save her before she fell off. Once she helped Nya back on her feet, she said, "Nya, use your powers from your fans! It might help splash some sense into her!"

"You do realized you just made a pun, right?" Kitty said.

"Now is not the time for humor!"

Nya sighed. "Don't be mad at me, Carol, but it's the only way to save you."

Nya uses her fans to spray water in Carol's face. She fell to her knees for a moment, but before the other ninja could ask if she was alright, she stood back up, still hypnotized and this time even angrier than before. She ends up knocking Kitty off the fortress.

"Kitty!" Nya and Pixal shouted.

Kitty manages to save herself by catching one of the ropes, swinging around on it like a wild animal. She lands back on the roof with the others and laughs like a crazy person. "That is a serious safety hazard! And I had a lot of fun!"

Carol laughed wickedly. "Time to say goodbye!" She goes to try to sever the last rope and cut it while her teammates were still on it.

"Carol, no!" they all shouted.

Before Carol could use her dagger to cut the rope, music is being played. She snaps out of her trance when she spots Sensei Wu playing a flute as he, Garmadon, Kai and Lloyd come by with Water Lily and Blossom.

Carol held her head in pain. "Ugh, my head. Where am I? What are we doing here?"

"We're getting outta here because this whole place is coming down!" Lloyd calls out, "Hop on, ladies!"

The ninja hopped on the dragons, with Nya and Carol mounting on Water Lily with their teachers. Kitty and Pixal mount on Blossom with Lloyd and Kai.

"What is that flute?" Nya asked.

"The Sacred Flute," Garmadon said, "It cancels out the powers of the Serpentine."

"That's amazing!" Carol exclaimed before groaning in pain and clutching her head, "Ow! Too soon."

"The flute is as old as the Serpentine themselves," Wu said, "But we must hurry! The monastery is alone with Misako and Monica! We cannot let the Serpentine get there before us! Quickly!"

They flew through the skies, hoping their home and friends would still be there in one piece.

**NEXT SCENE:**

Back at the monastery, Misako and Monica were barricading the doors to prevent the Hypnobrai from trying to break in. They couldn't let them take back their staff. Consequences would be taken if they got inside. They could only hope the ninja and the boys would hurry back.

"I wish the others would get here sooner," Monica said, "I feel so defenseless right now."

"There's nothing to fear, sweetheart," Misako told her niece, "I know how to fight. I will protect us."

Monica crossed her arms over her chest. "I wish I knew how to fight."

"You better wish you had, little girl," said a menacing voice behind them. The girls turned around to see Skales, who smiled wickedly. "There may not be a need to fight if you do exactly as I say."

"You are not getting the staff!" Misako said angrily.

"Oh, really? Well, you might want to tell her that."

Behind Skales was Zelda, hypnotized once again and in a fighting stance. A few other Hypnobrai soldiers came out of hiding to join in the battle.

Monica became frightened, clutching her aunt's hand. "Aunt Mimi, what do we do?"

Misako placed her hand in Monica's and said, "Follow my lead."

"Very well," Skales said, "If a fight is what you want, then a fight is what you get. Zelda, take care of these two! The rest of you start raiding and destroying everything in sight! And do not rest until the staff is found!"

Zelda came up to try and kick Misako down, but the old historian moved herself and Monica to the side, causing the teenage girl to fall flat on her face. She got up and tried to punch the teacher, but she along with Monica ducked, making Zelda punch the doors and hurting her fist and yelping in pain.

She wasn't done yet, though. She tried once more to bring harm to Misako and Monica, but the older woman picked up her niece and jumped up in the air, making Zelda spin around in the carousel of enemies in the training course. It went too fast and slung her out, making her land on the poles where it shot her up in the air and made her fall flat on the ground.

Misako and Monica landed back on the ground. The twelve year old was filled with adrenaline. "That was awesome! What do you call those moves?"

"The art of the silent fist," Misako said, "Your uncle taught it to me."

Monica smiled, but it quickly disappeared when she gasped. "The snakes and destroying the compound!" This was true. The Hypnobrai were destroying everything in sight.

Misako sniffed the air. "Do you smell that?" She looked to see the training compound had been set on fire. "Fire! Move! Now!"

The two were trying to head back inside the monastery, but Selma rushed outside with the staff. "My love, I have the staff! Let's go!"

"Retreat, soldiers!" Skales ordered.

The Hypnobrai rushed out of the monastery, grabbing Zelda as they escaped. Misako rushed after them. "No! They have their staff back!"

"Aunt Mimi, we have to stop the fire from spreading!" Monica said.

Before the two could rush off to find water, they noticed the ninja and boys returning. The girls waved at them from inside the training compound, which was spreading through with fire faster than a cheetah chasing down an antelope.

The ninja hopped off the dragons. Carol went to free the other two reptilian beast while Nya, Kitty and Pixal went in to help Misako and Monica. Nya called out to Water Lily. "Water Lily, put this out!" The dragon nodded and breathed out water, putting the fire out in the training compound. Thankfully the fire didn't spread inside the monastery, but Pixal went inside to make sure.

The boys hopped off the dragons. Lloyd and Garmadon rushed over to Misako, embracing her tightly. Wu did the same with Monica, fearing that if he let go, he would lose her.

"Misako, are you alright?" Garmadon asked.

"I'm alright," Misako said, "But they stole the staff back. I'm sorry."

"I don't care about the staff. I only care that you and Monica are safe."

"Same here," Lloyd said, hugging his mother tightly.

Pixal returned outside, pulling back her hood. "No fires inside the monastery, but the Hypnobrai have been in there. Everything is either misplaced, damaged or gone."

Carol gasped, rushing inside in a panic. A moment later, a scream was heard with the animal sorcery ninja running back outside, falling to her knees and sobbing. "Those snakes tore up half my stuffies! They're gone!"

Kitty pulled her hood back, finally revealing a huge bruise on her cheek. "The training course is gone."

Kai gasped. "Kitty, your cheek!"

Kitty touched her bruised cheek and sighed. "Yeah, it got kicked by... Carol."

Carol looked up and cried even harder. "I'm so sorry! I wasn't myself! Please forgive me!" She ran up and hugged Kitty to which the wild ninja hugged back, silently forgiving her.

"What do we do now?" Lloyd asked.

Nya picked up a chunk of wood from the ground, seeing how everything starting her adventure as a ninja was gone. But after seeing Pixal, her sorrow quickly turned to anger. This whole mess started because of her. If they hadn't of left to destroy the distraction caused by the Hypnobrai, the monastery would still be in one piece and the training compound wouldn't have been burned to the ground. She crushed the chunk of wood in her hand and stormed up to Pixal. "This is all your fault, Pixal! If you hadn't followed that stupid bird, none of this would've happened!"

"Nya, control yourself!" Misako said sternly.

"No, Misako, Nya's right!" Carol yelled, tears streaming from her eyes, "We've lost everything because of you! My stuffies had to suffer the consequences because of your actions!"

"My friends, why are you so angry?" Pixal asked, "Your things should not matter. What matters is that we are all safe. We should be using this time as a teaching moment and learn from all this."

"A teaching moment?" Kitty got up in Pixal's face. "A teaching moment! What is the matter with you? What are we supposed to be learning from all this? There's nothing to learn! We have nothing! Don't you see that! Why do you have to be so strange? Why do you have to be such a weirdo? Why do you have to be so calm about everything? It gets so ridiculous! Nobody can stand it! Nobody can stand you! But this doesn't hurt you! None of it does! It's like you have no feelings! I bet you're not even hurt by what I'm saying, but you better be hurt by this! If you don't care, then we don't care about you! Because you don't get it! Everything is gone! And it's all because of you!"

Pixal was stunned. She didn't know what to say. There were no words to explain how she felt. She truly was hurt. But she didn't want to let her anger loose. It was best for her to leave. To give her friends a chance to cool down. And to give herself some time to take it all in. She ran off from them in a way to how they felt she was upset with them.

"Pixal, wait!" Nya shouted.

But it was too late. Pixal had already mounted Blossom and was flying off in the distance.

Carol couldn't keep her anger in. "You guys are at fault for this!"

"Us?" Kitty said, "You were the one who started getting upset about all your stuffies being turned into trash!"

"Well you ran her off by telling her off!" Nya shouted, "She may not show it, but she was really hurt by what you said!"

"You started it by telling her it was all her fault!" Carol yelled.

Soon they all started arguing with one another. This lasted for a moment until Wu finally had it and shouted louder than he ever has. "ENOUGH!" The girls stopped arguing after that.

Misako stepped up. "We are all at fault. We only have ourselves to blame. What you all said to Pixal was uncalled for. When she returns, or if she decides to return, you will all apologize to her. Do I make myself clear?"

The ninja looked their teacher in the eyes. "Yes, Misako."

Misako nodded. "Very well. Now come. We need to clean up whatever we can."

The ninja followed their teachers in the monastery. They have lost so much. But if they lose Pixal, that will be their biggest regret.

**NEXT SCENE:**

As the early evening rolls in, the Hypnobrai have returned to their tomb. Skales holds up his staff, happy to have it back. Selma walks next to him, happy to see her husband happy. Behind them were two soldiers holding a tied up Zelda. She was no longer hypnotized, but she was starting to become angry.

Selma took her husband's hand. "Is it time, dear?"

"It is now," Skales said, "Time to shine, my love."

Zelda grew furious and finally let her anger out. "I'm getting fed up with this! I demand that you release me! You got what you wanted! Now let me go!"

Selma faced Zelda and said, "No." That one word sounded like venom dripping in the teenager's ears.

Zelda sighed in defeat. "What do you want from me? I have nothing else to give you."

The tribe soon began changing. "Slither Pit! Slither Pit! Slither Pit! Slither Pit!"

Selma chuckled. "Well, I guess we have to fight for your freedom in the Slither Pit."

"What is the Slither Pit?" Zelda asked.

"Come. I will show you."

The Hypnobrai cheered as they were led to a small battle area. The two soldiers untied Zelda and pushed her in the pit. A sword was thrown beside her. Selma was given a sword as she waltzed in and prepared for battle. Zelda stood up and picked up her sword, getting into a fighting stance.

"A deal has been made for this battle," Skales said, "If the human girl wins, she will be set free. If she loses, she will be our prisoner forever. You know the rules. There are none, but in the Slither Pit, whatever I say goes. Alright, fight!"

Selma ran up at Zelda, swinging her sword until the teenage girl used her weapon to block the blow. The two began an all-out sword fight. Zelda thanks her grandfather silently for those sword fighting lessons. So far the fight was even with the two and things were going smoothly until Skales decided to make it difficult.

"Two weapons!" Skales called out.

Soldiers lowered a rack containing weapons made of ice. Selma picks a shield while Zelda takes a dagger. Zelda uses the dagger and throws it at Selma, but the female snake used her shield to make it bounce back to the human girl. Zelda quickly moved out of the way before it impaled her and instead got stuck in the ice.

Skales called out another difficult task. "Side winder!"

The arena began to tilt, making Zelda and Selma slide around all over to the place. Selma took this as an opportunity to attack Zelda with hand to hand combat. The snake rushed up and punch Zelda around her lower lip. A cut was shown as the teenage girl felt its stinging sensation.

"Go, Selma!" Skales cheered his wife on.

Zelda turned to look at the female snake. Selma smiled prepared her eyes to hypnotize the human girl, but Zelda covered her eyes and kicked Selma to the ground. The crowd gasped.

Zelda finally snapped. She threw her weapons down and did something she hasn't done since her training her grandfather gave her. She spins, holds out her fist and punches Selma in the cheek, dizzying her and then kicking her in the torso. The female snake fell to the ground, sore and tired. The tribe began chanting for Selma to get up, but she couldn't and falls flat on her face.

Skales sighs. "The winner is...Zelda."

The crowd began booing as Zelda went and kicked Selma in the side, having enough and grabbing her things. She stole a sword from a soldier and left the Hypnobrai tomb.

Skales went to help his wife up. "I'm sorry, my love."

Selma groaned in pain as she leaned up against her husband. "I don't ever wanna see that girl again."

Outside, Zelda continued her journey, forgetting what just happened a moment ago. The past stays in the past. Now was time to focus on the future.

**NEXT SCENE:**

Meanwhile, back at the monastery, the ninja, teachers, Kai, Lloyd and Monica were trying to salvage what the Hypnobrai hadn't stolen or broken. There were still some things they still had and Carol was doing her best to look on the bright side, no matter how hard it was.

"Well, it's not all bad," Carol kept saying, "I mean, we still have some stuff. We still have the couch. And the chair. And you guys still have your family portraits." She picked one up that showed Garmadon, Misako and Lloyd. The frame was broken, but the picture was still in one piece. "You might need a new frame." She set it on the coffee table. "And it's not all bad. Look at it this way. We still have running water." She went into the kitchen to turn on the sink, but when she twisted the faucets, no water came out. She kept twisting them until she broke them off. She gasped and hid them behind her back. "You might need a new faucet."

Misako sighed. "Garmadon, did you forget to pay the water bill?"

Garmadon chuckled nervously. "I was going to pay them today, but then I got distracted with all this snake business." He sighed. "I'll pay it tomorrow with the late fee." He walked out of the room.

Carol smiled. "Well, we may not have running water, but we still have power. Who's up for a movie night? I'll fix up some popcorn!" She turned on the kitchen light, but it stayed on for only two seconds and then blinked off. She gave a nervous smiled. "Well, now it's dark." She took Theodore out of her bag. "But I'm still staying on the bright side."

"Well, that's just great," Kitty said, "There's no storm which means someone forgot to pay the power bill."

"I'll do it tomorrow," Garmadon said, "What's next? You're all going to complain about me not paying the cable bill? Because I will pay it."

"I think we should look at it this way," Misako said, "This will give us the opportunity to bond more and stick closer than we ever had. Without all those distractions, I think it will do us good."

"I'll go ahead and bring some candles," Kai said.

"I'll help you," Kitty said, thankful that the darkness in the room hid her blush.

"Carol and I will go and find some extra blankets and pillows," Nya said. But when she went to retrieve Carol, the poor girl was leaned up against the refrigerator, cuddling her stuffed bear and rocking back and forth with tears streaming down her eyes. The water ninja sighed in pity for Carol. She went to help her up. "Come on. Let's go see if we can find some flashlights while we're at it."

"I'm trying to look on the bright side," Carol sobbed, "Where is the bright side? Tell me where it is?" The two left the room in search of necessities.

Monica just stared at them as they left out of the room, especially Carol. "There's a mystery to Carol that I don't understand. Did something happen to her in the past?"

"That is something that should only be in Carol's mind," Wu told his daughter, "Come. Let us prepare the living room."

Lloyd walked into the living room, holding up a broken video game system. "Well, Dad, my grounding just became permanent. I found this broken in the hallway."

"Oh, well," Garmadon said, "I'm sure video games are the last thing on your mind right now."

"The only thing on my mind right now is stopping those rotten snakes from taking over Ninjago." _And finding Zelda just to see her again_. But he didn't say that aloud. Sighing, he said, "I think it's best if I turn in for the night. This has just not been our day." He walked away to help clean up.

Once all the cleaning was done, the living room turned into an indoor campground. Candles were lit. Tea was made and consumed. Beds were made around the living room and it wasn't too long before the ninja were asleep. But deep in the ninja's hearts, they knew they had hurt Pixal deep down. Carol wept herself to sleep, clutching the stuffed animals that she had left. Nya prayed to the Great Sensei to watch over Pixal. Kitty lied there and stared up at the ceiling, realizing the hurtful words she said to her friend. Her sister. And she couldn't sleep a wink at all because of it.

Oh, they hoped their sister was okay.

**NEXT SCENE**:

Speaking of the nature ninja, the poor girl flew so far as the Ninjago National Forest. It was the place her father took her all the time on warm spring and summer days to go out hiking, camping, swimming and, yes, tree climbing. It was the one place she felt happy.

But she didn't feel happy. Not after what was said to her. It wasn't her fault. She couldn't help being who she was. Why couldn't they see that?

She had Blossom land in front of the Tree of Elements, the tallest and oldest tree in the forest, aging from over nine hundred years old. She began climbing up and continued going on until finally making it to the top. Up there she saw the stars and the moon. Up there the night sky could see her tears.

She just needed some time to let it all out. The others were right. It was her fault. If only she had not distracted them from their real task: to protect the staff. Now the Hypnobrai have it back and their training course was gone.

But the only reason she found the Hypnobrai's fortress was because of the robin. The beautiful bird led her to stop the snakes before they used the fortress to take over Ninjago. Even the smallest things can turn into big problems. The robin did some good. It helped them. It helped her.

_Your thoughts are correct,_ the Tree of Elements said in the wind, _Just give your friends some time. Give yourself some time. They will never understand until you show them who you truly are._

"But if I show them who I truly am, they may not accept me," Pixal said sadly.

_Trust me, dear. They will. Deep down, even through all the mistakes, they are still your sisters through thick and thin. _

Pixal smiled. "You are right. No matter what, we will always be friends. We will always be sisters."

_I am glad to hear that. But now is not the time to think about that. Your little friend is sitting beside you._

The tree was right. No sooner did she hear chirping sounds. Looking beside her, the robin sat on a branch, looking up at the nature ninja. Pixal smiled, wiping away her tears and petting the robin on the head. "I'm glad to see you again, my friend."

The robin began flying up in the air, summoning Pixal to follow her. The nature ninja nodded and jumped off the tree. Blossom flew up and caught her, rolling her eyes. "You have got to stop doing that."

Pixal giggled. "I'm sorry, Blossom. That's just who I am."

They followed behind the robin, who led them through the Sea of Sands. Once the robin landed, so did Blossom. Pixal hopped on the ground, looking at what the robin rested on. She smiled as she grabbed her apron. Good thing she brought her cooking utensils and ingredients.

She knew just how to make it up to her friends.

**NEXT SCENE:**

The next morning, the heroes of Ninjago were sitting outside in the gardens where they were cooking up eggs that Carol supposedly found. They tasted weird, but it was something to at least fill up their stomachs.

It was cold outside, but the house was losing heat and all they had was enough lumber to keep a fire going outdoors. They shivered and wrapped themselves up as well as they could, but it just wasn't enough to warm up their bodies or brighten their spirits.

Nya definitely wasn't sure what they were eating and she couldn't stand the taste of it anymore. "Carol, wh-what did you say w-we were eating again?"

Carol did her best at a grin as she spoke. "Oh, I guess I forgot to mention. These are turtle eggs."

Nya spit out her portion and was about to throw the rest of it in the fire until Kitty stopped her. "Wait! I'll eat it!"

Nya gave her a disgusted look. "You actually ate yours?"

"L-Like I've said before, I'll eat d-dirt if I'm hungry enough," Kitty said.

Nya quickly handed her the plate. "Go nuts."

"Remember, girls, we must be thankful for what we still have," Misako reminded them.

"Yes, we should, Misako," Carol said, "We should be thankful to at least have somewhat of a roof over our heads and we may not have all the food in the world, but we'll be back on our feet before we know it. But we still don't have the training course. I can't look on the bright side for that."

Kitty sighed. "I don't care much about that. The only thing I care about is Pixal. I wish she would come home so we can apologize to her. I really feel awful to what I said to her."

"I do, too," Nya said.

"I want Pixal back, too!" Carol cried, sobbing and clutching Theodore in her arms.

"Wait," Kai said, "Pixal?"

"Yeah, Pixal," Kitty said, "You know, the nature ninja. The smart girl who's really strange sometimes."

Kai shook his head and pointed out in front of him. "No, Pixal!"

Walking up to them was none other than Pixal, smiling and happy to see everyone again. "Pixal!" The ninja ran up to embrace their sister, happy to see her safe and sound.

Carol burst into tears of joy. "Pixal, we're so sorry for everything we've said. We're a team and that means we're all responsible. Please forgive us! Please! Please! Please!"

Pixal smiled, helping her friend up. "Of course I forgive you all. You were only angry and needed time to think things through. I would've been home sooner, but something came up."

"What happened?" Nya asked.

"Well, I saw the robin again and I followed her and she led me to somewhere I'm sure you all will love to see."

"That's our Pixal," Kitty said.

"We're glad to have you back," Lloyd said.

Pixal smiled. "Why? Is it my turn to make breakfast?"

Everyone laughed for a moment, very glad to have Pixal back.

Wu smiled, placing his hand on Pixal's shoulder. "Yes, Pixal. We would love for you to make breakfast."

"But I already made it," Pixal said, "Follow me. I want to show you what I've found. I think you will all be pleased."

Everyone followed Pixal as they flew through the morning sky in the Sea of Sands. They landed and walked the rest of the way to where Pixal continued to lead them.

Before they resumed, Pixal turned around and spoke to them for a moment. "I can't explain it, but I feel a strange connection with the robin. I think she's trying to help show us the path we need to take." She then took them from behind a rock, showing them a giant ship colored with red and yellow with the head of a dragon at the bow. This ship here was once known as the legendary Destiny's Bounty, a ship once used for pirates but will now be used for many more adventures. "Welcome to our new temporary home. It's only until we can fix up the damages back at the monastery. But I figured if nothing else, we can use it for training."

"It's incredible!" Nya exclaimed.

"It's a beauty!" Kitty said with excitement.

Carol sniffed the air. "Do I smell pancakes?"

"Yes," Pixal nodded, "Buttermilk pancakes. And I also made chocolate chip. And blueberry."

A tear rolled down Carol's cheek. "It smells just like home."

The young teenagers and Monica ran to the ship in happiness to have a new home. Pixal looked at her teachers. "I promise we will figure out a way to bring this back with us. I have a plan for it."

"You always do, Pixal," Misako said, "We're proud of you."

"There is one thing I forgot to ask," Garmadon said, "What was in that giant box you were pushing around the other day?"

Pixal giggled. "I don't know. I forgot to look in it. I will when I get the opportunity. I just hope the Hypnobrai didn't confiscate it." She looks at her friends. "You know, I have only known you all for a short time, but I feel as though all of you are like family to me."

Wu places a hand on Pixal's shoulder. "I feel there's more to you than meets the eye. There's something special about you, Pixal. I wish I could see it."

Misako smiled. "I know there is. And it may help us find out who the Yellow Ninja is. And once we find her, our son will have help preparing for the final battle. Now let's go eat before all the pancakes disappear."

The morning shines bright as everyone in the bounty is enjoying breakfast, laughing and starting yet another food fight, this time with Pixal joining in. These were moments that will last forever, whether good or bad, for all of them.

Standing outside was Zelda, banged up and tired after a long night of traveling. She wished she could be with her family again, gathered at the breakfast table and having a nice conversation. But there was a journey to get through. She couldn't waste anymore time.

And time was precious to everyone...

* * *

**WELL, GUYS, ANOTHER YEAR HAS COME AND GONE. WE'VE MADE IT TO 2020. I HOPE YOU GUYS ARE ENJOYING THE STORY SO FAR. SPOT THE DIFFERENCES IF YOU CAN AND TELL ME IN THE REVIEWS.**

**THIS YEAR I HAVE THREE NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS, BUT TWO OF THEM ARE PERSONAL, SO I WILL ONLY TELL YOU ONE.**

**MY NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION IS...**

**TO CONTINUE WRITING MORE STORIES FOR YOU GUYS. THAT'S IT.**

**OKAY, GUYS, I PROMISE TO THANK REVIEWERS AND READERS MORE WHEN I GET THE CHANCE.**

**HOPE THIS CHAPTER WAS GOOD.**

**PLEASE REVIEW.**


	5. S1 E5: A Family of a Crew

S1 E5

A FAMILY OF A CREW

A few days have passed since the training compound was lost because of the Hypnobrai. And because of the mess and damages, the monastery was uninhabitable to live in. So when Pixal discovered the Destiny's Bounty after following her new feathery friend known as the Robin, the ninja and allies now have a temporary home to stay in until the monastery was back to living conditions.

It took all four dragons, but they were able to bring the bounty to the gardens, where it will now be living. Nya actually had a lot of creative ideas and with Pixal being the tech expert, the two drew up the designs for the Destiny's Bounty new defense system. And it was going to be the best of the best.

But right now, the ninja were all sleeping soundly in their beds which have been moved into the Destiny's Bounty. The girls all had to share a room while Lloyd and Kai shared the room across from them. Monica had a room to herself next door to the girls on the left. On the right sat Garmadon and Misako's room and next door to the boys sat Wu's room.

But the teachers' rooms were empty because they were too busy awakening the youngsters.

Coming inside the girl's room was Misako, playing a flute louder than anything. She took it out of her mouth for a moment to speak as the ninja groaned. "Time to awaken, girls! Morning has arrived! Evil doesn't sleep and neither should you! In order to reach your full potential, we must greet each day as an opportunity." She continued playing the flute louder until the girls finally gave in.

Nya groaned, getting out of bed. "Okay, you've convinced us. We're getting up. But if you want us to reach our full potential, shouldn't we at least get a full night of rest?" She yawns while trying to open the blinds, but they fall off the window when she pulls the cord. She rolled her eyes. "Should've seen that coming."

Kitty hopped up, stretching out her back. "Ugh, you call that rest? I think me back had more lumps than the mattress."

Carol took her toothbrush out of the cup sitting on the sink. "We would've gone to bed on time last night, but we ended up staying up late talking about how cool it is to have a new headquarters, I guess we lost track of time." She got so busy chattering, she didn't notice her toothpaste had been replaced with sand. "Since the Serpentine burned down our training compound, I'm just glad we have a new place where we can train and keep a closer eye on Ninjago." She placed the toothbrush in her mouth, but spit out the toothpaste after realizing what she had poured on top of it. "Eww! Where's the running water?"

"Pixal and I are still working on a running water system," Nya said.

Pixal began doing stretches to bring some energy into her muscles. "What is our lesson today, Misako? Mastering the strike of the Scorpion? Or perhaps the grace of the Swan?" She then ended up standing on a loose plank and falls in, coughing from the dust spreading around her. The others rushed to her aid and helped her out. She smiled. "Thank you, my friends."

"I'm afraid training is out of the question for today," Misako said, "There are other matters that need attention. And one of those matters is chores."

"Chores?!" the ninja chanted together in shock.

Misako nodded. "Yes, chores."

"Misako, ninja don't do chores," Carol said, "Ninja fight bad guys."

"Let me explain, girls," Misako said, "In order to respect ourselves, we must respect our new training compound and second home and where we are from. And this place is a long way from becoming a ninja headquarters. I expect things to be spotless when I return. And put your backs into it." She played a song on her flute as she walked out of the room.

Nya sighed. "And I thought fighting the Serpentine was difficult. This place is gonna take forever to clean and fix up. We'll never get it done. And we still have a long way to go from getting all our advanced equipment in."

"Well, I have a way we can take Misako's advice and get it done," Carol said, "But we have to put more than our backs into it."

The ninja soon got dressed and started getting the place cleaned up. Kitty was in charge of cleaning up the rooms and getting rid of all the trash that didn't belong. She uses spinjitzu to clean all the dust out and tosses the trash outside in the gardens.

Nya and Pixal worked together to wash the walls. Nya sprayed water droplets while Pixal used a mop to dry them. Once they finish that, they began working on some of the machines they installed, wondering how they can get the main computer system to work. Carol came in and saw they were in need of help. She used her powers to turn into an electric eel and placed her tail on the machine and shocks it, bringing it to full power.

All the ninja work together to get the sails up and flowing. They actually take some old sheets and paint the peace symbol of Ninjago on them, using them as a new sail. At last, the bounty was clean and workable.

It wasn't too long before their teachers arrived home. They spotted Kai and Lloyd sparring in the only empty room on the bounty that will now be used as the training room. Monica was in the living room writing in her journal. Giggling could be heard in the dining room as they found the ninja sitting around the table drinking tea and gossiping.

Wu smiled. "Hello, girls."

"My teachers," Nya said, "What took you so long?"

"The bounty is looking wonderful," Garmadon said, "I can't believe you did all this."

"Well, ninja don't just fight," Carol said, "We also clean."

Kitty rolled her eyes. "That's not what you said this morning."

"I'm glad to see you have exceeded our expectations," Misako said, "I can only hope that you can keep it up."

"Well, of course we can," Carol said, "By the way, where have you all been?"

"The homeowners insurance company," Garmadon said, "We've been trying to put in a claim to get the damages in the monastery fixed up and to repair the training compound without having to pay hundreds of dollars for everything. Since when did the monastery ever need insurance? Why, when I was your age, we never had any of that stuff."

"I don't think they want to hear any of that stuff, Garmadon," Misako said, "Rest their ears. They've been cleaning all morning."

A car horn blasted outside. Kai and Lloyd came inside the room. The ninja looked out the window and saw what looked to be an old wooden pick-up truck driving in from the trail of the garden.

"I didn't know there was a road around the mountain," Nya said.

"The trail in the garden leads to a road," Wu said, "And we were expecting visitors today. I'm sure you knew that, Kitty."

Kitty gasped. "Oh, no, I forgot! Me family said they were coming to visit today! I literally forgot they were even coming to town!"

"Wait a second," Carol said, "I thought you and your family lived on a ship and sailed around the waters of the Ninjago Sea. Where is the ship? And how did they get a truck?"

"There's a town near Ninjago City not too far from Jamanakai Village where the ships can dock at the port," Nya explained, "They call it Searag Village."

Carol gave a weird face. "Weird name for a town."

"Listen up," Kitty said, "I love me family with all me heart, but I need to lay down the law to you all. They love to talk. They also love to play music. Here's some ground rules. If they start yapping, don't ask them questions about anything. They will talk your ears off and they don't know when to quit. And whatever you do, don't turn on the radio. Music really gets them going. Got it?"

"Got it," Nya said, "Don't ask questions and don't play music. Simple as that. But I'm pretty sure that in a way, the cherry doesn't fall far from its blossom. And I'm pretty sure they would love to meet Kai."

"Don't toy with me, Nya. Come on." Kitty began leading the group outside.

Outside in the gardens, the truck drove up and stopped at the end of the trail. Coming out was an older man and woman from the front and passenger seats and jumping out the backseats were two boys, one who looked about seventeen and another who looked to be around twelve.

The older man looked to be in his fifties and had light gray hair and over it looked to be a white fishing hat. He wore a brown fishing suit with a white shirt underneath and also had on a pair of work boots.

The woman looked to be almost at fifty and had long brown hair pulled back in a ponytail while also wearing a green scarf around her head that was tied down underneath her chin. She wore make-up lightly on her face and had on a blue blouse and a green skirt. She had a pair of emerald earrings on and also wore a set of pearls around her neck.

The eldest boy had dark brown shaggy hair and wore a green sweatshirt with black pants. The youngest boy had red hair and wore a brown jacket with a white shirt underneath while also wearing brown pants. He wore a pair of glasses and carried a wooden sword around with him.

The older man breathed in the mountain air as he spoke in a thick Irish accent. "Take a sniff, everyone. You might never get to smell it again." He took a look at all the junk in front of the bounty. "Well, it looks like they've been doing some spring cleaning. But it ain't even spring. It's only the end of fall. Although I will admit that it's been getting colder than it should be. Say, Martha, did you remember the notepad?"

"Yes, Frank, it's here in me purse," Martha said in her Irish accent, taking the notepad out, "But what could you possibly need me to write down for you to remember? Aren't we supposed to be here for Kitty?"

"Oh, how could I forget? I always seem to do that."

"It's only because you're getting old, Pa," the youngest boy said in his boyish Irish accent.

Frank ruffled the young boy's hair, chuckling. "Don't be silly, Henry. I'm as fit as I used to be. Let's go, now."

Martha followed the two, but stopped when she spotted her eldest son staring up at the bounty. "Kevin, you're staring off into space again."

Kevin shook his head and followed after his mother. "Sorry about that." His voice was soft, but you could hear the Irish in it. So people can probably tell they're all Irish just by the way they speak.

Martha chuckled. "You get so mesmerized by things these days."

Kitty rushes outside with everyone in tow, acting happy that her family is here yet she's not very excited. "Mama! Papa! Kevin! Henry! What are you doing here?"

"What do you mean by that?" Martha asked happily, "Why do you think we're here? None of us would miss out on a chance to see you, me sweet little kitten! Come here and give Mama a hug!" She wraps her daughter in a tight hug. "I haven't heard from you since your last letter!"

"I just sent that letter two weeks ago," Kitty said.

"The ship's been empty since you left, bun buns," Frank said.

"Papa, don't call me that in front of me friends," Kitty said in embarrassment.

Frank chuckled. "I can't help meself, bun buns. Say, we're only gonna be in town for a few days before we have to head back out on the waters. Now's the best time to come and visit us on the old ship. Hope none of your friends get seasick too easily."

"You want me to bring me friends along?"

Henry came up and jumped on his sister's back. "Ha ha! Giddy up, sea horse!"

Kitty dropped him off her back. "I ain't a sea horse, Henry."

"You used to be," Henry complained, but then he saw a pretty face walking out of the bounty. And that face belonged to Monica.

Henry didn't hesitate to walk over to Monica and stare at her figure up and down. Monica gave him a bewildered stare, but just gave a smile to remain being kind. "Hello."

"Well, hello there," Henry said, using saliva to slick back his red hair, "The name's Henry. Who may you be?"

"Monica."

"Monica, huh? What a gorgeous name. I bet people tell you that all the time."

Monica chuckled awkwardly. "Yeah, they do."

"Henry, quit bugging Monica!" Kitty yelled.

Henry growled. "That sister of mine always knows how to get all up in me grill."

"Oh, your Kitty's brother?" Monica asked.

"You know it, sweetie," Henry said. He growls flirtatiously.

Kitty sighs. "This is just not me day."

Martha gasped. "Oh, look at all the wonderful friends you have, Kitty! So wonderful to meet you all!" She looks over at Kai and gasped while placing a hand over her heart. "Oh, who are you? You are just so handsome! You are the perfect man for me daughter!"

Kitty blushes in embarrassment. "Mama!"

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Armegon," Kai said, "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm sure if you want, Kitty can give you a tour of the new training area until the old one gets fixed. She worked very hard to spruce it up."

"We'd love a tour! Martha exclaimed, "How about it, boys?"

"I'm all for it!" Henry said.

Kevin shrugs. "I guess."

"It'd be nice to see what the inside of another ships looks like," Frank said.

Kitty groaned. "Well, I guess I have no other choice. Come on."

Everyone followed Kitty inside the bounty where she began giving her family a tour of the bridge, where Nya and Pixal had been working on getting it ready for their big surprise. The wild ninja began showing them everything there was.

"Here is the bridge. We've been working on the place. Trying to put in all these fancy gadgets in here so we can catch the bad guys easier." She lowered down a periscope. "And this big giant telescope thingy extends into some sort of weird binocular thing."

Nya rolled her eyes. "It's called a periscope. They use them in submarines or underground tunnels."

"Right, what she said. It tells us what's going on in Ninjago." She then shows them another machine. "And this thing here helps us the most. If those slither headed snakes aren't giving us the answers we want and we're up late at night..."

"Oh, let me guess," Martha said, "It can bring out one of those robot arms that'll give him a good bopping on the head."

"It can throw a fish in their face," Frank guessed.

"Maybe it'll tell who their secret love is," Henry said, not taking his eyes off Monica. The pre-teen girl was starting to get annoyed.

Everyone looked to Kevin so he could give out his answer, but he was focused on something else. "Oh, there's the steering wheel." He walked over to it to get away from the crowd.

Kitty rolled her eyes. "All your guesses are wrong. It's a cappuccino machine." She turned it on to pour some in a cup.

"Well, I call that a hoot of a gadget," Frank said, "You'll need something to keep you awake."

"Would you like for me and Pixal to tell you about the button?" Nya asked, motioning to a red button sitting on its own stand in front of the main computer.

"No!" Kitty said quickly, "It's not ready yet. They don't need to know about it."

"Yes, they do. I'm sure they're curious."

"We sure are," Martha said, "What does the button do?"

"Nya and I have been working on a special defense system," Pixal said, "Every ninja headquarters needs one. In order for us to protect Ninjago, we need to be vigilant at all times. Technology has many incredible uses. By using the main computer to detect where evil will rise, we are helping to keep Ninjago safe."

"That's amazing," Kevin said, walking over to the main computer, "The only technology I'm good at making is clocks. Can I help you in any way?"

"No, it's alright, Kevin," Kitty said, shielding Kevin's hands from the main computer system, "We can handle it. You're all guest here. You shouldn't have to worry about working on anything." Kitty then checked an imaginary watch. "Hey, look at the time. Don't you need to get back to the ship before it gets dark? I told you, there's dangerous Serpentine out there. I don't want them catching up to you."

"Well, I suppose we should start heading back," Frank said, "The docks at Searag close up at seven and we need to be there before then."

"Mrs. Armegon, thank you so much for telling us about Kitty's first potty time," Carol said, "I don't think I'll ever forget it."

"Oh, well, if you thought that was a hoot of a story, wait until you hear about the time I caught Kitty in the living quarters dancing with her stuffed sea lion," Martha said, "She always had issues sleepwalking as a child."

Kitty groaned. "Mama, time to go! Snakes on the loose!"

"Okay, we're going." Martha grabbed her purse. "Let's go, boys."

Henry winked at Monica. "I hope we meet again, Monica."

Monica groaned while mumbling to herself. "I hope I never see him again."

Outside, Kitty stood next to the truck window on the passengers side, wishing them a good night. "Now you all be careful. Don't bump into any snakes and I love you all."

"We love you, too, little kitten," Martha said, kissing her daughter on the forehead, "Now promise us that you'll come to the ship for a visit before we have to head back out to selling our cargo?"

Kitty sighed. "Yes, Mama, I promise! But only if you leave. I don't want you to get hurt. It's getting dark. And there's no way I can come visit if something happens to you guys. Uh, those headlights are working, right?"

Frank turned the headlights on, but they were so bright everyone had to shield their eyes. The older man chuckled nervously. "Sorry about that. We stopped by to have them changed over by a friendly couple in the desert. They put a little extra juice in them." He turns them off while making a u-turn to get back on the trail. "Bye, bun buns! See you when you come to visit!"

"And bring all your friends!" Martha called out as they drove away, "And don't forget Kai! I can see why you like him so much!"

Kitty groaned. "Mama!"

"Now that they have left, maybe Kitty will teach us the art of dancing with stuffed sea lions," Sensei Wu snickers.

Kitty gasped. "Out of everyone here, I thought you would be the one to back me up."

Wu chuckled. "Who said I was?"

Kitty blushed in embarrassment and rushed back inside the bounty. Everyone else followed suit, laughing the entire way.

You just gotta love those family moments.

**NEXT SCENE:**

The Armegons made it back on the road traveling through the Sea of Sands, happy to have seen their daughter after a time that felt like forever. They could tell that their daughter has changed some, but no matter what, she'll always be their little girl. After all, she does have a tendency to get a little wild.

But they could tell off the bat that she had no plans to come visit them.

Frank sighs. "I don't think our sweet bun buns is coming, honey."

"Oh, don't go thinking like that, Frank," Martha said, "Kitty's coming. No doubt about that."

"I'll say she's changed a lot since she went off to become a ninja," Henry said, "Now that she's a hero, she thinks she's all grown up and can do whatever she wants. Well, I don't know how she can do that when she has to go off fighting bad guys all the time." He nudges Kevin a bit in the arm. "Am I right, Kev?"

Kevin nodded shyly. "Yeah."

"I think it's just time to face the facts, Martha," Frank said, "Our little bun buns is growing up. She doesn't need us anymore. I think it's time we started remembering that. Could you write that down for me, hon?"

Martha shook her head. "Not really something I want to write down, but alright." She started scribbling in her notepad. "Lights, darling. It's starting to get dark."

"Oh, right." Frank turned on the headlights. "Thanks, love."

But what they don't know is evil plans to strike soon. Very soon.

**NEXT SCENE:**

A dark, dreary place a graveyard can be. Scary, cold and filled with mourning. But it was on the map. And Zelda had to walk among the tombstones.

The teenage girl hated having to walk through places that gave her the jitters. But she had to toughen up. There was family waiting for her, whether they wanted to see her or not.

She took out her flashlight, taking a deep breath. "Don't be scared, Zelda. You need to be brave. Or try to be." She spots a rat scurrying by. "I'll have to face my fears of going through terrifying places. I have family who unfortunately rule the darkness. I need to learn to face through that." She then screams at a shadow that looked to be the shape of a snake, but it turned out to be a statue of a man releasing a bird. She sighed in relief. "Those Hypnobrai have put me on edge. I'm so glad to finally be away from them. I'll be happy if I never see another tomb from the Serpentine ever again." She heard the sound of a crow squawking in the sky and jumped, but recovered quickly. "I think I just need to sit down. Take my mind away from scary things." She sat down on what she thought was a bench. She took out her book about creatures of Ninjago and turned into the section of the Serpentine. She found a page that explained about a tribe called the Fangpyre.

She cleared her throat. "The Fangpyre tribe is the only tribe of the Serpentine where some warriors and generals can have two heads. Their scales are colored red and white and they have especially long, thin fangs. They have the power to turn anything into snakes, whether it be vehicles, objects or people. They are also very agile, are able to jump very high and climb extremely fast. Simple organisms, such as insects, and vehicles can inherit these snake-like abilities and appearances immediately after being bitten. A crazy fact about these snakes is if a Fangpyre injected with Fangpyre venom, which is usually caused by accidentally biting itself or by being bitten by a fellow Fangpyre will sprout a second head. It is unknown what would happen if a two-headed Fangpyre was bitten again, or if a Fangpyre bit a Serpentine of a different tribe.

"The only cure for a human who has been bitten by a Fangpyre is the anti-venom in the staff. This will reverse the effects. Another way to cure a victim is to accelerate their heart rate. One of their weaknesses is to avoid their bites, but this can be problematic if they attack in groups or alongside other Serpentine. If forced into melee combat, metal armor can prevent the Fangpyre from injecting their venom."

She closes the book. "I can only hope I never run into them. Well, I can't stay here forever. I need to start seeking shelter." When she got up, she saw a crackle of lightning strike, causing her to jump and forcing her arm to hit a lever, knocking it the other way and opening up a tombstone. She jumped to her feet. "Oh, dear."

A shadow is seen lurking up and emerging from the tombstone is none other than the Fangpyre general himself. He had a long tail and two heads with red and white markings on his scales. And he held the staff of the tribe.

He looked down at Zelda, speaking with both heads. The right head had a higher pitched voice while the left head had a deeper voice, but both had a Romanian accent. "And who-may I say released us-from our captivity?"

Zelda stood up, trembling with fear. "I...I will not reveal my name unless you can prove to me if you are good or evil."

"What type of-example-do you want?" the Fangpyre general asked.

"Well, I want to know if you are with or against the Hypnobrai? Personally, I am against them after I had accidentally fell into their tomb and they hypnotized me to make me do their evil bidding. If you are against them, I will believe you are good."

"Why in the world-would we be friends-with the Hypnobrai? Those hypnotizing deceivers-have always gotten-in our way. Do you want us-to stop them for you?" They hissed their tongues.

Zelda gave a disgusted look, but stood up straight while speaking. "If that's what you want."

"It'll be-our pleasure!"

"Good to know. I'm happy to give you their location. Their tomb is in the Frozen Wastelands. They've been running amuck since their release so it shouldn't be too difficult to spot them. I thank you for handling the situation, General...uh, what is your name? Or names, should I say?"

"Fangtom," both heads said.

"Alright," Zelda nodded, "Thank you, General Fangtom. Now I must be running along now. Goodbye." She started to walk away

"Wait just-a moment. There is still something-that we need-your help with. And if you help us-we will do-whatever you want. But if you refuse,-then we will let you go."

"Well, the Hypnobrai never did that for me." She walked back over to the two-headed general. "What is it that you want?"

"In order for us-to take down the Hypnobrai-we need a strong army," Fangtom explained, "The Hypnobrai are strong-and we are few in number. We need-reinforcements!"

"Well, I might be able to find a place for you that has a lot of stuff. There are some old ships and cranes over at Searag that I know nobody uses anymore. I'll be happy to take you there."

"I hope you don't mind-all of us coming along." Once the general said that, the rest of the Fangpyre tribe rise from the tomb, smiling and hissing with joy that they were free from captivity.

Zelda nodded. "Alright. Gather up and follow me." She led the tribe out of the graveyard and into the woods, following the trail to Searag.

Oh, Zelda. If only she were doing the right thing.

**NEXT SCENE:**

The docks of Searag. One of the oldest ports in all of Ninjago. And only one ship sat at the cargo loading and unloading docks. A cargo ship known as the P.A. Clover.

The Armegons have been famous for their cargo company since the 1800s. Even during wars and recessions, they always made money selling and shipping fish, bricks, lumber, shoes, iron and tools. They even ship out and sell food to and from East Ninjago. They even ship out and sell tea. The shops are located at every port both in Ninjago and East Ninjago. They're not rich, but they have plenty of money to live a life and lots of happiness doing what they love.

The family parked their rental truck out by the docking station and headed out over to the ship, making their way up the walkway to finally be home on their beloved vessel. And the moment they got there, Frank went right back to work.

"Home, sweet home," Frank said, picking up his toolbox, "Well, it's back to the old grind. I wanna get this surprise finished for our bun buns." He heads over to an object with a sheet over it.

"Oh, honey, you've been working on that thing day and night," Martha said, "Why don't you take a break from it tonight and finish it tomorrow?"

"Oh, don't worry, love. I just got a few more little things to do on it. Besides, you never know if Kitty will come to visit."

"Well, I have to agree with you there." Martha walked over to Henry. "Come now, Henry. It's time to get ready for bed. I'll start your bath."

"Ma, pirates don't take baths," Henry said, swinging his wooden sword around.

Martha chuckled, taking her son by the hand. "Well this pirate does. Come on." She looked to see Kevin heading off into the workshop. "What are you up to in there, Kevin?"

Kevin tapped his fingers together nervously. "Oh, I'm just going to work on those clocks."

Martha nodded. "Alright. Don't stay up too long. I know how much of a grumpy pants you can be when you don't get enough sleep." She walked away with Henry in tow.

Kevin went inside the room, walking over to the work table. He took out a crate and began taking out what looked to be old fashioned wooden toys and games. He didn't always work with just wood, though. He's made model trains and molded figures such as pirates and samurai warriors. He had always dreamed of making toys and seeing the bright happy faces of children every time they played with them. There was actually once a time where he made a doll for Kitty's birthday. It was a stuff doll with red yarn hair and a green dress with a white kitchen apron and black shoes. It had a smile sewn in with red blush cheeks and two black button eyes. Just a simple doll. She loved it and still had it because it was one of a kind.

It was a dream of his to make toys and maybe one day owning a toy shop of his own. But he was stuck on a cargo ship. And he knew his father wanted him to continue on with the family business. So those dreams he had were thrown out the window. What would it matter? He was too shy to stand up and share his opinions.

A shadow passed by, startling him. He had seen something from the window on the door. He went outside to see who was out there, but the only person was his father working on his special project. He then saw another shadow whoosh by, scaring him and making him fall to the floor. It was loud enough for his father to hear.

Frank set down the tools he was holding and rushed over to his son. "Are you alright, Kevin?"

"Dad, you might think I'm crazy, but I think something or someone just sped past me," Kevin said.

Something passed by in a dark silhouette. Frank began to worry. "Martha, was that you?"

Martha opened the door that led through the living area. "What, Frank? Are you hearing things again?"

"Uh, you did turn on the security alarm before we left, right?" Frank asked.

Martha frowned and went over to check the alarm, but it wouldn't turn on. "I did, but I think it's broken."

The power suddenly went out and another whoosh went by. Kevin jumped in fear. "What's going on?"

Frank began to get fed up. "Whoever is out there, be warned! Me daughter knows spinjitzu and she ain't afraid to use it!" Then he heard hissing sounds. That could only mean one thing. "Snakes are on board." He turned to Kevin. "Go find your brother and both of you get down in the hold now."

"Yes, Pa." Kevin rushed off to find Henry.

Frank hurried over to Martha, who began to worry. "Frank, what's going on? Why did the lights go out?"

"Call Kitty, Martha," Frank said, "I think we have Serpentine on board."

"Your thoughts-are correct," a voice hissed. Standing on top of a cargo crate was Fangtom, holding up a broken satellite phone. "But I think-we should wait-until she calls you."

Martha gasped, grasping her husband. "Frank."

"Stay strong, love," Frank said, holding her tight, "I won't let them hurt you."

"We will attack the Hypnobrai," Fangtom said, "But we will need-to grow our army. And we will need to borrow-or should we say keep-your useful items."

"Wait, stop!" a voice shouted. Coming up onto the ship was Zelda, anger written all over her face. "What are you doing? I told you where we should go! You can't just climb up on someone else's ship!"

"Why should we listen-to the likes of you?" Fangtom asked.

Zelda gasped. "You tricked me! And to think I thought that you were good!"

"Well, we do have-the tendency-to bite off more-than we can chew." The two-headed general raised his staff. "Have at it, boys!"

The Fangpyre tribe came out from hiding. They rummaged around and looked for anything that could be used to strengthen their army. They bit into tires and old wrecking balls inside of crates. They began using these things and turning their ship into their new base.

"Me creations," Frank said, "Our life's work. They're turning them into-"

"Our army!" Fangtom shouted.

"Stop this!" Zelda yelled out, "I'm not afraid to send you right back to your tomb!"

Fangtom grabbed Zelda by the shirt collar, hissing at her. "And we are not afraid-to do this." And in the eyes of Frank and Martha, they watched as the Fangpyre general sank their fangs in Zelda's arm, their venom now beginning to take affect in her bloodstream. She screamed as Martha shielded her eyes on her husband's shoulder. Fangtom dropped an exhausted Zelda on the ground and slithered up to the older couple. "You see, humans-we don't just turn objects-into snakes,-but we can also-turn people, too."

The army of snakes begin closing in on Martha and Frank as they trembled with fear...

* * *

**HERE YOU GO, GUYS. ANOTHER AWESOME CHAPTER.**

**SO WE HAVE MET KITTY'S FAMILY OF A CREW. YOU GET TO KNOW EACH ONE OF THEM. ESPECIALLY KEVIN. SO GUYS, THERE MAY NOT BE MUCH OF A DIFFERENCE IN THIS CHAPTER, BUT YOU CAN STILL SPOT THE DIFFERENCE AND TELL ME IN THE REVIEWS.**

**TIME TO THANK REVIEWERS: ****Ryry-24, The Mayor of Ninjago City, and I am a Ninjago Fan.**

**THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH. ALSO, I WILL BE THINKING ABOUT THE CD SUITS AND I PROMISE TO GIVE KAI AND NYA'S PARENTS MORE MOMENTS. JUST AT A LATER TIME. I HAVE IT ALL PLANNED OUT.**

**THANK YOU FOR READING AND I HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED THIS CHAPTER.**

**PLEASE REVIEW.**


	6. S1 E6: The Bite of a Fangpyre

S1 E6

THE BITE OF A FANGPYRE

The next morning on the Destiny's Bounty, the ninja were busy with their daily chores and task. Nya and Pixal were trying to get the special defense system into working order and trying to finish on the button. Carol was washing the windows to help make them better to see through. Kitty was busy tuning her violin to get it sounding better, but she just couldn't get it the way she wanted.

Nya saw how frustrated Kitty was and rolled her eyes. It may not be the best time for teasing, but she wanted to. "Wow, sounds like there's music in the air. Wonder if we're allowed to turn on the radio or will it make Kitty go wild."

"If you don't mind, Nya, I'm trying to tune this blasted thing," Kitty said, continuing to work on her violin, "What is wrong with this thing?"

Carol decided to try and help persuade Kitty by going over to the table and talking her mouth off. "Hey, Kitty, did I ever tell you about the time where I went down to Jamanakai Village and I saw this amazing chocolate fountain in the window of the candy store? It was so sweet! They had all this sugar covered fruity candies out and you could literally dip it into the chocolate-" A chocolate bar was stuffed into her mouth to stop her from talking.

Kitty glared at the animal sorcery ninja. "Didn't I just say I was busy?"

Carol shrugged, taking the chocolate bar and walking away.

Pixal walked over to the steering wheel, staring at Kitty. "Kitty, I think I need some help testing out the steering wheel. After all, Frank did say he taught his bun buns everything she needed to know."

Kitty set the violin on the table, placing angry glares on Pixal. "Do not call me by that nickname."

Nya had the phone over her ear, pretending to talk into it. "Hi, Mom and Dad. What's that? Well, of course, I'd love to come back to visit you guys. I just can't imagine what daughter would not want to go see her own loving parents."

"Would you all stop it?" Kitty said, furiously, "I know what you're all trying to do. You're trying to make me go and see me family. Listen, I love me family and I always will, but I'm ready to be me own person. It's time for them to understand that. And visiting them is out of the question. They'll make me stay for way too long and even if I wanted to go see them, I have way too much on me plate today." She picked her violin up.

Carol placed her hands on her hips. "And tuning your violin is one of those things?"

Kitty nodded. "Yes." She then saw Kai come inside, checking out the main computer system. Kitty placed her violin behind her back and chuckled nervously. "Hi, Kai. What's going on?"

"Nothing much," Kai said, "Just wanted to check up on you girls. You still planning to visit your family today?"

"Uh, yeah," Kitty said, "I was just trying to tune me violin to make it sound better. But I was just about to head out. You don't plan on going with me, do you? Because it's completely up to you. You can make your own decisions and all."

Kai chuckled. "No, I figured that you needed some time to spend with them. Don't let us get in the way. But tell them I said hi." He walks out of the room.

Nya crossed her arms. "You only did that to impress him. We should've thought about that sooner."

"Wait, I thought you said you had a lot on your plate," Carol said.

"Why would Kitty have a full plate?" Pixal asked, "She ate everything for breakfast this morning."

Kitty sighed. "Me plates not that full." She rushed out of the room. "I need to go."

Outside, the dragons were resting in the gardens, but they weren't in the best of moods. Especially with their health. They were coughing and sneezing and elemental power had been scattered all over the place. Lloyd was checking their temperatures with a dragon-sized thermometer while also wearing a mask over the lower part of his face.

Coming outside was Kitty with her violin and backpack in tow. "Alright, Wild Cherry. Time to go. Don't wanna keep me family waiting."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Lloyd warned.

"Relax. It'll be a quick visit. Just in and out, nothing more, right, Wild Cherry?" Out of the blue, Wild Cherry sneezed, and coming right out of her mouth was vines which wrapped around Kitty. The wild ninja struggled her way out, standing in front of her dragon. "What has gotten into you, girl?"

"Sorry, Kitty," Wild Cherry said, her voice scratchy, "No flying for me today."

Kitty looked over at Lloyd. "What's wrong with them?"

"It's a case of reptilian influenza," Lloyd said, "But in their cases, it's known as elemental dragon flu. For these ladies, it could last at least a week. The best thing for them is plenty of rest, lots of fluids and we'll need to make sure to spray them down with water and keep them under some shade. Luckily there's a cave around here that they can stay in until they get better."

"How do you know so much about dragons?" Kitty asked.

"When you have a mom who's whole life is revolved around learning, you tend to know everything. Don't worry, though. They'll be back in the skies soon. We just have to take extra good care of them."

Carol walked outside and gasped. "Oh, no! Poor Crystal!" She rushes over to hug her dragon.

"I wouldn't go near them for now," Lloyd warned.

"Lloyd, may I ask why you're wearing a mask over your face?" Pixal asked.

"Because I have a problem with germs." Lloyd chuckled nervously. He took the mask off.

Kitty rolled her eyes. "I can't believe this." She sees Kai walking over to Water Lily. She gives out a heavy sigh. "Well, I guess I gotta go on this long walk all by meself. I'll have to go through the Sea of Sands and then be at Searag. But by foot it will be a few hours until I get there. Sure would be nice to have some company so I'm not all alone. I'm sure me family won't mind me bringing a friend over."

Kai nodded. "Sure, I don't mind."

"I'll come along, too," Nya said.

"I don't mind seeing them again," Carol said, "And I could definitely use a break from all the cleaning."

"I will accompany you as well," Pixal said, "All you had to do was ask."

Kitty sighed. "Fine, I guess we're all going."

"I think we should all go," Sensei Wu said, walking up to everyone while Garmadon, Misako and Monica followed behind, "I haven't been to Searag in a while. We will take the vehicles."

"Oh, what kind of vehicles?" Carol asked, "Are they motorcycles with weapons installed in them? Or are they mopeds with the ability to go on high-speed chases?"

"You've been watching way too many action movies," Monica said.

Sensei Wu begins walking towards the caves. "Follow me."

When they get inside, the ninja notice two ordinary vehicles, a station wagon and a green SUV, sitting inside.

Carol frowned. "Weird. I wasn't expecting two old-fashioned vehicles."

"The station wagon isn't old-fashioned," Garmadon said, "It's an incredible vehicle. Don't you remember when we got this, Misako? It was the first car we ever bought."

"I remember," Misako said, "We were expecting Lloyd at the time."

"And this is also the car I learned to drive in," Lloyd said.

"Unfortunately, not everyone will fit in the station wagon," Wu said, "So while us elders drive the older vehicle, including Monica, you all will take the SUV."

"But you can't drive it unless you have a driver's license," Misako said.

"What's a driver's license?" Carol asked. Everyone gave her a weird look. "What? I'm just asking."

Kai took out his wallet and show his license to her. "This is a driver's license. You can't operate a vehicle without it. That and you have to have proof of insurance."

"How do you not know what a driver's license is?" Kitty asked, "Me family and I travel around Ninjago on a giant ship and even I know what it is."

"Well, where I come from, we don't have cars," Carol said, "But it still confuses me why you have to have a piece of plastic before getting behind the wheel."

Nya sighed. "Let's go before Carol blows up on us with questions."

"I'm driving," Kai said, getting in the driver's seat, "Who's riding shotgun?"

"I am not familiar with that word," Pixal said.

Kitty sighed. "I'm calling it." She climbs into the passenger's seat.

The other three ninja and Lloyd hop in the backseats. Kai drives out of the cave following behind the station wagon. Climbing inside the cage were the dragons, who began resting and cooling down to heal themselves of their illness.

As they drove through the Sea of Sands, the ninja could hear the sound of a flute playing from the open window. None of them knew where it was coming from, but it sounded beautiful.

Lloyd rolled his eyes. "There goes Uncle Wu playing his sacred flute again."

"So that's where the music's coming from," Carol said.

"I remember him playing it before," Nya said, "It helped to get Carol out of her hypnotized trance. He never told us why it's so special."

"I'll explain," Lloyd said, "My father told me that long ago there were many flutes, created to combat the powers of the Serpentine and drive them underground. But over time, Ninjago's forgotten its ancestors' wisdom, and now the one my uncle plays is the only one."

"I think I get the life lesson there," Kitty said, "Respect your elders or else suffer the consequences. Boy, you guys are laying it on thick. Persuading me to see me family or else something bad will happen."

"Seems to me you are only hearing what you need to hear," Nya said, chuckling.

"Come on, Kitty," Carol said, "Your family loves you. Can't you show them your love by just seeing how they are and spending time with them? You should do the things you guys love to do together. You only get one chance to have real parents."

Kitty sighed, crossing her arms. "Easy for you to say. You at least have parents that don't come to visit you every time they come to town."

Carol widened her eyes. She quickly took out her teddy bear Theodore and hugged him tightly. She nodded. "Yeah, but they're always close to me in my heart." She turned her head to look out the window, doing her best to avoid looking in Kitty's bewildered eyes.

They rode the rest of the way to Searag in silence. Once they made it there, they began walking down the docks where the cargo ships were located. When they approached the P.A. Clover, Kitty stopped for a moment, listening. But shockingly, she heard nothing.

"Kitty, what is it?" Kai asked in a worried tone.

"It's quiet. And that ain't normal. Me family's never quiet." Kitty rushed up on the ship and gasped when she saw her parents duct tape by mouth and body to the wall of the cabin. They were looking a bit green on their skin, causing alarm to Kitty. She rushed over to undo the tape. "Mama, Papa, are you both alright? What happened? Who did this to you?"

Once she removed the tape off Martha's mouth, the older woman smiled. "Oh, Kitty, I'm so glad you came."

She takes the tape off her father's mouth. Frank looked scared. "Bun buns, I know we said you should come and visit, but you guys have gotta get out of here. You shouldn't have come, it's the ssssnakes!" He hissed the last word out.

"The bite of the Fangpyre!" Wu exclaimed in fear.

"What kind of snakes are the Fangpyre?" Carol asked.

"The Fangpyre grows their army by turning their prey into serpents," Misako explained, "Once they sink their teeth, their venom can turn anything into one of them."

"It's only a matter of time before the full transformation is complete," Garmadon said, "We need to help turn them back to normal."

"Wait a minute," Kitty said. Then she gasped. "Where are Kevin and Henry?"

"Down here!" Henry's voice called from down in the hold.

"Hang on!" Kitty shouted. She unlocked the latch to the hold and opened it to help her brothers' out. "Are you both alright?"

"I'm fine," Henry said, "You might wanna calm him down." He pointed to a shaking Kevin.

"What's wrong with him?" Kai asked.

"He gets this way when he gets scared," Kitty said. She wraps her older brother up in a hug, helping to calm his nerves. "It's alright. You're safe now. They won't come for you."

"But they're still around here," Kevin said, "I can feel it." He then sees a giant wrecking ball heading towards them. "Wrecking ball! Duck!" He jumps on top of his younger siblings, covering them as the wrecking ball passes. Everyone else did the same thing and fell to the ground as the giant tool crashed into the cabin.

Kitty got up and embraced Kevin. "You saved us!"

Kevin shrugged. "I don't plan on anyone getting hurt."

Lloyd gasped. "Zelda!"

Standing up on the remaining roof of the cabin was Zelda. Her skin was also a tint of green, meaning that she was also bitten. She gasped. "No, please! Don't look at me! I look hideous!"

"How did the Fangpyre get you?" Nya asked.

Zelda hesitated a moment, but knew they would find out eventually. "Well, I may have... accidentally... freed them. And I sort of... led them here."

"You freed them?!" Kitty shouted in anger.

"It was an accident! I didn't realize I was sitting on their tomb!"

Kitty screamed. "When will you get it through your stubborn head? You can't go where your sister and grandmother are! No mortal can cross over to the underworld! And because of your stubborn ways, you continue to free the Serpentine!"

"Kitty, calm down," Martha told her daughter.

"It's her fault you and Papa are infected with snake venom!" Kitty yelled, "How are you not angry?"

"Because anger never gets you anywhere. You need to stay calm."

Kitty took a breath, calming herself. "Alright, I'm good now."

"Kitty, if we want to turn your parents back, we need the anti-venom in the staff," Kai said.

Wu turned to look at his daughter. "Monica, head to the docks. Take Kevin and Henry with you."

"But I wanna help you fight," Monica said.

"Go, now!"

Monica groaned. "Fine. Come on."

Henry growled flirtatiously. "We do get to spend more time together."

"Don't push it," Monica said as they ran off the ship.

"Looks like that wrecking ball wants a second helping!" Carol shouted. Everyone fell to the ground to keep from getting whacked.

Once the wrecking ball was out of the way, everyone stood back up and were terrified to see the amount of Fangpyre surrounding them.

"Getting the anti-venom is easier said than done," Nya said, "We're a bit outnumbered. These guys not only have warriors, but vehicles, too."

"We can take them on," Kitty said, pulling her hood over her head, "Nobody messes with me family and gets away with it."

The ninja rushed out into battle. "Ninja Go!" They used spinjitzu to knock snake warriors off the ship.

Wu began playing the sacred flute, which bothered a couple of warriors standing in front of him. Kai came up and kicked them both in the sides, making them slide across the ship. He looks at the old man. "I don't know, Sensei Wu. I think we make a pretty good duet. You play, I dance." He punched a Fangpyre in the face.

Wu nodded. "So it seems." He began hearing loud rock music above him. Looking up on the remaining rooftop of the cabin, there stood Fangtom rocking out to the boombox. Sensei Wu glared at the general. "You there! Give us the staff and we promise you no harm! We can do this the easy way or the hard way!"

Fangtom turns the volume up, drowning out Wu's voice. "Sorry! We cannot-hear you!"

"Ugh, I cannot sssstand that mussssic!" Martha screamed. She then noticed a Fangpyre sneaking up on Wu. Acting quickly, she grabbed a frying pan, ran up and knocks the snake in the head before he could sink his fangs in Wu. "It'ssss not nice to bite people!"

"Way to go, Martha!" Frank cheered.

"Ma is one tough lady!" Henry called out from the docks.

Stomping vibrations could be felt. The ninja and allies looked in front of them to see what looked to be a mechanical unicorn that was green and scary looking, meaning that the Fangpyre have taken it as their own.

Carol hid behind Kitty. "That is the scariest looking unicorn ever."

"Where did this come from?" Kitty asked.

"It was a sssspecial gift for how proud we are of you, bun buns," Frank said, "I remember how much you loved unicorns. It may be a mechanical snake now, but do you still like it?"

The snake unicorn looked at Kitty menacingly. The wild ninja backed away. "I would've loved it, Papa. But the slither heads took it away."

"What do we do?" Nya asked.

The machine came closer, hissing loudly. Carol screamed. "Run!" They ran off to the other side of the ship.

"Kitty, why'd you have to be born on a cargo ship?" Nya asked.

"I ask meself that question all the time," Kitty said.

The Fangpyre crane with the wreaking ball comes swinging around the corner again, heading towards the ninja. They jump, hitting the floorboards until the wreaking ball passed. They stood up and noticed there was only three of them.

"Wasn't there four of us?" Carol asked.

"Where's Kitty?" Pixal asked in worriment.

They had no idea that Kitty had grasped onto the wrecking ball, flying through the air until she jumped off to land in the cockpit of the crane. She looked at all the controls, wondering how she was gonna operate such a huge construction vehicle. "I hope I can figure out how to work this thing." She moves one of the handles and saw that it made the wrecking ball move. "Well, what do you know? I can work this thing." She saw Carol going face to face with the snake unicorn. She sighed. "Forgive me, Papa." She began moving the handles.

Carol used her bo staff to turn into a lioness. "I got this. Time to roar you away!" She roared so loudly and powerfully, it could've blown away everything in her path. But the wrecking ball knocked the mechanical snake unicorn out of the way, knocking it into the ocean. Carol turned back and sighed in relief. "I did it! I defeated the evil unicorn!"

Kitty rolled her eyes while jumping out of the cockpit. "Sure you did."

Over on the other side of the ship, Zelda was rushing around to try and find a way off the ship when Fangtom caught her. He grasped her by the shirt collar, staring her in the eyes. "Where do you-think you're going?"

"Ssssomewhere far away from you," Zelda said fearfully.

"That will be-a bit of a problem," Fangtom said, "Once your transformation is complete,-we will take you back with us-and make you-our bride."

"Zelda!" Running up was Lloyd, who kicked Fangtom straight in the face, causing him to let go of the teenage girl and fall to the ground. Lloyd looked at Zelda. "Don't worry. You're safe now."

"Eassssy for you to ssssay," Zelda said, "You're not the one in the processsss of becoming a ssssnake."

"Come with us." Lloyd extended out his hand. "We'll help you."

Zelda wasn't sure if he and the ninja could help her, but she was willing to give them this one chance. She took Lloyd's hand. "Alright." Fangtom rose back up and was about to bite Lloyd when Zelda acted quickly. "Lloyd, look out!" She kicked the left head of the general and knocked out one of his fangs. He shrieked in pain. The two humans rushed off.

"That hurt!" Fangtom shouted. He knew his army would no longer be a match to stop the ninja. It was best to end the fight. "Retreat!" They slithered over to a green helicopter, also known as the Rattlecopter, and climbed on.

"Where in the name of Ninjago did they find a helicopter around here?" Garmadon asked.

"While I was leading them through the Ssssea of Ssssands, they found it broken down and decided to take it assss one of their own," Zelda said as she and Lloyd rushed up to them.

"Forget about that," Nya said, "He's getting away with the staff! We need the anti-venom!"

Kitty groans in frustration. "Right now would be a good time to have those dragons. But they've left us in the dust."

"Don't fret about it, bun bunssss," Frank said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"There is no need to worry," Misako said, "There is still a way."

"What may that way be?" Kitty asked.

"Part of reaching your own full potential is understanding your weapon's potential," Wu explained, "Once it is in tune with a focused heart, its secrets and powers can be unlocked."

Kitty groaned. "Okay, I don't mean to be rude, but this is not the time to be cryptic. What is any of that supposed to mean?"

"What Sensei Wu is saying is our weapons are vehicles themselves," Pixal said.

Carol gasped in delight. "Do I get to ride my bo staff like a broomstick?"

"Your weapons have evolved over the years," Garmadon said, "They may be different from elemental abilities, but just like all of you, they can work as one."

"Which means that all of them can combined together to make one powerful vehicle," Nya said.

"As long as you concentrate and think the same, that one vehicle can turn into many different forms," Misako said, "Think about it. The Fangpyre are getting away and are travelling through the skies. Imagine that you are taking flight."

The ninja concentrated and thought about flying like a bird, higher than the clouds. High enough to fly around all of Ninjago. And no sooner did their silver weapons become one. The Fans of Water formed the wings, the Bo Staff of Animal Sorcery provided the cockpit and seats, the Bow and Arrows of The Wild became the main weapon and the Sais of Nature propelled the Plane of Life to reach higher, and slice evil to return the light. The Colors of Life, sapphire blue, lavender purple, jungle green and timberwolf, were painted on the flying vehicle, creating a beautiful artistic masterpiece in the sky.

"This is amazing!" Carol exclaimed.

"Did we really do this?" Kitty asked in wonderment, "This is just too good to be true."

"Very remarkable," Pixal said.

"I hate to hurt our dragons' feelings, but I think they've just been replaced," Nya said, "Let's fly, ladies!"

The ninja cheered as they flew off in the distance to follow after the Fangpyre.

Kai looked at Wu. "Does your flute turn into anything?"

Wu sighs, looking at the old instrument. "I wish."

"We'll head back in the vehicles," Misako said, "Kai, you take Martha and Frank."

Frank hands Kai a set of car keys. "Here, you can drive ussss in the rental truck."

"Will you all drive our boyssss?" Martha asked the elders. Kevin and Henry walked up to their parents.

Misako nodded. "Of course. Come on, everyone."

"What about the SUV?" Lloyd asked.

Garmadon tossed Lloyd the keys. "You drive it. Get you and Zelda straight to the Destiny's Bounty. Follow us and no scenic routes. If you wreck it, I'll never let you drive again."

Lloyd nodded. "Got it." He and Zelda rushed over to the parking lot as did everyone else.

The ninja continued flying through the skies as they made it over to the Rattlecopter. They followed behind the snake infected flying machine to try and take the staff.

Fangtom looked out the door and gasped. "What in the world-is that thing?"

"Okay, girls, let's see what this thing can do," Kitty said. She presses a button and out came arrows shooting towards the Rattlecopter. "Well, ain't that something!"

Fangtom saw the arrows flying and screamed. "Duck!" He lowered his two heads, but one of the arrows knocked the staff out of his hand. "The staff!" It fell far down and landed in the back of the rental truck.

Kai cheered. "Air delivery! Whoo hoo!"

"We did it!" Nya exclaimed, "We got the staff!"

The other ninja cheered as well, but this caused them to lose their concentration of flying and forced their weapons to turn back to normal. They started falling.

"Oh, my gosh!" Carol screamed, "We're gonna die!"

"Girls, we have to concentrate together!" Pixal shouted.

"I can't concentrate while I'm falling!" Kitty yelled.

They kept falling and thought they would hit the ground when Kai drove up and caught them in the bed of the truck. They breathed a sigh of relief knowing that they were safe.

"Thanks, Kai!" Kitty called out.

"No problem!" Kai shouted out from inside the truck, "Just glad you all are okay!"

"Oh, I told you I liked thissss boy, Frank," Martha said to her husband.

"Well, I'll admit that he'ssss a nice kid," Frank said.

The Rattlecopter flew up above them. Fangtom looked down. "You will not-win this fight easily! We will have-our staff back! Soldiers, attack!"

Fangpyre warriors in cranes and stolen vehicles began gaining on the heroes. The ninja kept trying to make their weapons turn into a different vehicle, but no matter how hard they try, it just didn't work.

"I don't understand!" Nya said, "Why aren't these things working?"

The station wagon drove up next to them. Garmadon honked the horn while Wu rolled down the window. "Your weapon is merely an extension of your mind. If your mind is immobile, so is your weapon. You must focus in order for it to work."

"Well, ain't that just fantastic!" Kitty shouted.

"We have to get back to headquarters!" Nya said, "We need to prepare the anti-venom and help those who need it!"

Luckily they were only a few minutes away and after gaining more speed, the heroes made it back home before the Fangpyre could reach them. They rushed inside the Destiny's Bounty and gathered inside the main computer room.

Kai and Lloyd began fixing up the anti-venom. "Just hold on a bit longer, guys. Once we reverse the venom, we can fix all of you."

"Man the stations, everyone!" Kitty shouted, "Hurry up! All hands on deck! Nya, is that button ready yet?"

"Pixal and I have been working on it all morning," Nya said, "I think we finally got it working. I've been waiting for this moment." She presses the button, but nothing happens. She tried a few more times, but nothing changed. "What's going on?"

Carol gasped, running around in circles. "The Fangpyre are coming! They're gaining on us! They're gaining on us!"

Lloyd handed Martha, Frank and Zelda each a cup with the anti-venom. "This may not taste good, but it'll turn you guys back to normal."

"Bottomssss, up!" Frank said.

They drunk the anti-venom. The three of them felt a tickling sensation as they turned from beings snakes to their original forms.

"Oh, we're back to normal!" Martha exclaimed.

Zelda waited until the attention was focused on something else and took the opportunity to sneak away. Lloyd was the only one to notice this and started to follow behind in the fashion that a ninja always traveled: being sneaky.

Kitty began to worry. "What's the problem? Why isn't anything happening?"

"I don't know," Nya said, "I don't get what's wrong. Pixal and I spent forever on this. It's supposed to work!" She pounded the control panel in frustration. "Why won't it work?"

"You girls need a little help?" Frank asked. They turned around to see that he was no longer a snake, which lifted Kitty's spirits.

"Papa, you're alright!" Kitty exclaimed in relief.

"That's right and don't you forget it. Kevin, I'll need some help." Frank gestured for his son to come over.

Kevin jumped in surprise, but didn't hesitate as he went right over there. "What can I do?"

"Help me get these wires fixed up." Frank and Kevin started placing wires here and there. "Yeah, right there. And just put that here. There we go." The older man stood up. "That should do it."

"Fire it up, sis," Kevin said.

"I hope this works," Kitty said.

She pressed the button

The Destiny's Bounty opened its sail wings and rocket boosters. It began rising up off the ground to fly up in the sky.

Lloyd was pursuing Zelda and caught her trying to climb over the railing. "Zelda, stop!"

Zelda gasped. "Lloyd!" She slipped and would've fallen if Lloyd hadn't of caught her. But he had forgotten that he was in charge of watching over the staff as he saw it sliding on deck and fell off the vessel. Zelda noticed this and sighed. "This is my fault! Just like everything else! You might as well let me go! I must continue on!"

"Zelda, we can help you," Lloyd said, doing his best to hold on to the teenage girl, "We'll take you to where the Underworld is. We'll take you to your sister. But I can't promise you that she'll want to return. I don't even think she'll remember you."

"I know that. But I must fix the problems I've caused. I vow to lock those Serpentine that I have freed back where they belong. Underground. And I won't stop until my mission is complete." She released her grasp on Lloyd's hand and fell.

"Zelda!" Lloyd shouted, but it was too late. Zelda had already landed on her feet and ran off. He sighed. "Why must you be so stubborn?"

On the ground, Fangtom went to pick up his staff, growling under his breath. "These ninja-must be stopped. And we will not rest-until they are-defeated."

It was late afternoon as the bounty was soaring through the air. The Armegons were outside as Kitty came up to them. "I promise that we'll get you back to the cargo ship just as soon as we see the coast is clear. But stay as long as you'd like. It's nice having you here. And I'm sorry about the way I acted. I felt like I would be embarrassed by me own family. I was a fool. I love having you guys around. And I want to make sure and cherish every moment we have together."

"Martha, write this down," Frank said, "Out of everything we have ever had, our three children are the greatest. Both our champs, tall and short." He ruffled Kevin and Henry's heads full of hair. Then he walked over to his daughter. "And our wonderful bun buns." He embraces his daughter.

Martha tosses her notepad behind her and joins in on the family hug. "I already know, dear."

After a long moment of embracing, the Armegons began singing and dancing, with Kitty playing her violin. It was the most fun she ever had and she's glad for it.

The elders smiled as they watched the family having fun.

It seems Kitty has learned a valuable lesson:

Cherish every moment...

* * *

**HEY, GUYS. **

**HERE'S A NEW CHAPTER. SPOT THE DIFFERENCE OR YOU CAN TELL ME WHAT YOUR FAVORITE PART/PARTS WERE. YOU KNOW, ALL THAT GOOD STUFF. **

**SAYING THANKS TO ALL THE AMAZING READERS AND REVIEWERS. WISH I COULD GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO THE REVIEWERS, BUT I ONLY HAVE SO MUCH TIME. **

**HOPE THIS CHAPTER WAS GOOD.**

**PLEASE REVIEW.**


	7. S1 E7: The Best Way to Defeat Your Enemy

S1 E7

THE BEST WAY TO DEFEAT YOUR ENEMY

_Beside the road on the Sea of Sands sat a phone line. Resting upon it were birds of all types. Blue birds, yellowhammers, and even crows. Then one bird flies up and shoos them all away. This bird happens to be the Robin and she seemed different than all the others, but in reality, all birds are the same. _

_Unless, of course, the bird could talk._

_"Wake up, Pixal," the Robin said, "I know who you are."_

_Pixal gasped as she shot up, her head hitting the top bunk of the bed. After recovering from her shock, she rubs her head and climbs out of bed. She looks out the bedroom window to see that all is calm. Smiling, she walks out of the room._

_She heads inside the main control room, spotting her teachers, Kai, Lloyd and Monica surrounding the computer. "The hunt starts early today."_

_Wu nods. "A watchful eye never sleeps."_

_"As long as the Serpentine roam freely, no one in Ninjago is safe," Kai said._

_"And to make sure we are prepared, it is time for you to begin training," Misako said._

_"Where are the others?" Pixal asked._

_"Training on the upper deck," Garmadon said._

_While they were busy, Pixal heads outside on the upper deck, but there is no sign of the others. This has to be some sort of misunderstanding. Her teachers told her they were here. But all she could see was emptiness. That is until she spotted the Robin perched on the mast of the Destiny's Bounty._

_The nature ninja grins. "You were in my dream, my feathery friend. Last time I saw you, you led me and my team to good fortune. What reason have you returned? Is there something amiss?" The Robin then flies off as quickly as she came. Pixal watches in bewilderment, unaware that two shadows were sneaking up behind her. She turns around and gasped. "Queen Valderra. Princess Marga. What are you two doing here? I thought you both were banished from entering Ninjago!"_

_"We only returned for the silver weapons," Marga said, "My grandmother has so much planned for them."_

_Valderra pulls out two katanas. "Soon I will have the power to recreate Ninjago in my own image. And once my time has come to which I can no longer rule, Marga will reign after me." She charges at Pixal, but the nature ninja takes out her Sais of Nature and jumps over Valderra before the ruler of darkness could strike her. The teenage ninja lands in a defensive position. Valderra grew angry. "Give me your Sais of Nature!"_

_"You'll have to take them from me. Ninja Go!" Pixal performs spinjitzu, but before she could come up at Valderra, Marga comes up and grabs the nature ninja, using her dark magic powers to levitate her in the air and tossing her into a pile of junk. She loses her sais in the process. _

_Valderra smiles at her granddaughter. "You have done well, Marga. Now let's finish this."_

_"With pleasure," Marga said._

_The two threw a katana each at a rope, cutting it to loosen a heavy box to come down straight at Pixal. Before the nature ninja called it the end, a shadow formed in front of her, catching the box with ease. There in front of Pixal stood a giant elephant, setting the box down on the floor. The elephant transformed into the form of a human, but this human was in the shape of a woman holding the Bo Staff of Animal Sorcery and dressed in a ninja gi the color of yellow._

_Pixal gasped with a smile on her face. "The legend is true. You are the Yellow Ninja." _

_Valderra chuckles evilly. "So it seems the mysterious hero has come to save the day." She and Marga brought out their weapons. "Let's battle."_

_Both grandmother and granddaughter rush up just as the Yellow Ninja uses both her fist to punch them. She then flipped back to avoid a strike from Valderra and a slash from Marga and all three look at each other with the eye of the tiger._

_The two charge at the Yellow Ninja once again, but she jumps up as they thrust their swords forward. The Yellow Ninja lands on Valderra's blades. The queen of darkness spins around in an attempt to get her off before the Yellow Ninja jumps off herself and moves around the mast and lands. _

_"I'm getting fed up with this!" Marga shouts, throws her katanas at the Yellow Ninja, who tilts forward, letting the swords hit the mast before moving aside to straighten herself as she does Spinjitzu. Marga gets sent over to the other side of the ship._

_Pixal watches in shock before Valderra comes in to help by flipping forward to the Yellow Ninja, but ends up getting punched in the face by the true hero. The dark ruler attempts to fight back, but the Yellow Ninja moves back and kicks her in the side, knocking the older woman down before vaulting over her and grasps the Bow and Arrows of The Wild out in front of her. Valderra turns to her, holding a sword and charges at Yellow Ninja, but the mysterious woman shot an arrow at the sword and knocked it out of the queen of darkness' hand. _

_Finally both grandmother and granddaughter had enough and runs up to the Yellow Ninja, but the mysterious woman was quick and used the Fans of Water to bring up a tidal wave and washed the both of them off the ship. Their screams could be heard as they disappeared out of sight._

_Pixal looked at the Yellow Ninja, who held up a sunflower that continue to repeat something in the nature ninja's head._

Protect the chosen one.

_Pixal stood up as she watched the Robin perched herself on the Yellow Ninja's arm. "Who are you?" Suddenly, a swarm of Robins began flying around the nature ninja. She's startled by this as she looks the mysterious woman in her eyes, which were a rich color of gold. "What is going on? What's the meaning of this? Who are you, Yellow Ninja?"_

_But all she could see was Robins until at last, she woke up._

* * *

Pixal gasped, shooting up and smacking her head on the top bunk of the bed. She shook the pain away and sat up. She was hoping this wasn't a dream.

Carol chuckled. "Morning, Miss Sleepy Head. You better not think about sleeping in or you're gonna be late for training."

Pixal sighed. "I apologize, but I must ask. How come none of you awakened me?"

"We didn't think you wanted us to," Nya said, "You looked like you were having some dream. The way you were tossing and turning just meant that you would end up attacking one of us if we interrupted."

"I just hope this isn't a dream." Before Pixal saw it coming, Carol came up and smacks her face with a pillow. "Oof!"

Carol giggled. "Sorry. I always wanted to do that. But just making sure. Did that feel like a dream?"

Pixal groaned. "No. Thank you for your help."

Everyone laughs as they finished up getting dressed.

When they left down the hall towards the dining room, they heard shouting coming from inside the living room. And it was none other than Garmadon screaming into the telephone. "What do you mean you won't cover any of the damages? I pay monthly to have homeowners insurance on the monastery that both my brother and I inherited from our father and you won't even pay to have it repaired!" He pauses. "What do you mean a Serpentine raid isn't included in the contract? This is an outrage! You have no idea who you're dealing with! I happen to be the oldest son of the First Spinjitzu Master who also aids in teaching the heroes of Ninjago! Do you want them to be without a monastery to train?" But the call ended as the other person on the line hung up. Garmadon slammed the phone on the receiver. "This is ridiculous!"

Misako came up to the doorway. "I can go ahead and say that homeowners insurance won't be covering anything for the monastery."

"Your correct answer is as good as mine." Garmadon sighed. "There's no way we're going to be able to pay for all this. Repairs and replacements can cost over thousands of dollars."

"Well, luckily, we know of a good repairman who can fix and invent. He might be able to help us."

Garmadon's eyes widened. "Tell you what, Mimi. I'll fix up the monastery and make it good as new. I haven't worked with my hands in a while. And Lloyd can give me a hand. It'll be a father-son project."

Misako blocked her husband's way. "Not going to happen. Every time you tried to do it yourself, you always ended up making it worse."

"When has that ever happen?"

"The time when you tried to patch up the roof of the monastery. Or the time when you tried to fix the water pipes. And let's not forget the time you couldn't even get Lloyd's crib built. Because after every time you failed to fix it, what did I do?"

"You called the handy repairman," said a squeaky voice. Misako and Garmadon saw Theodore peeking from the doorway.

Garmadon sighed. "Theodore, I have no time to deal with you."

"And you all need to go in the dining room," Misako said. The girls rushed away from the doorway. The historian looked at her husband. "Theodore does make a point. So I'm going to call that handy repairman." She took the phone off the receiver. "I'll be outside on the phone."

Garmadon shook his head while rubbing his temples. If there's one thing he hated more than anything, it was the fact that he couldn't hammer a nail into a wooden board.

Meanwhile, outside on the deck a little while later, the ninja were making their way for training. While waiting for one of their teachers to come out and aid them in their skills in martial arts, they decided to gossip. They had noticed Pixal lagged a little more than usual.

"You're a little slow today, Pixal," Nya said, "What exactly did you dream about last night?"

"Well, in my dream, I saw the Robin again," Pixal said.

"You saw the Robin again?" Carol gasped. "Oh, my gosh, Pixal. Every time you see that bird, something big happens. First, it led you to the secret tree house. To which I wish we had one. And then it led you here to the bounty. So where did the Robin lead you to in your dream?"

"Well, in my dream version, I saw the Robin perched on a phone line. She spoke, but I can't recall what she said. Anyway, I woke up in my dream and went out on the deck. I saw the Robin again. Then I saw shadows to which they belonged to Queen Valderra and Princess Marga."

Carol gasped. "What happened next? Did they try to fight you?"

"They did, but someone saved me. And that someone was..." Pixal paused and walked over to the railings. She looked at her teammates. "My apologies, but it looks like we have a visitor."

"Who?" Nya asked. She looked to see an old-fashioned pick-up truck parked outside the bounty and climbing out of the driver's seat was the cutest guy the water ninja ever laid eyes on.

He looked to be around Kai's age with wavy dark brown hair and sky blue eyes. He had freckles sprinkled on his cheeks and wore a white shirt with a blue jacket over it and a pair of jeans. In his hand he carried a toolbox.

He began climbing up the bounty's gangway and waved at the ninja. "Hello, ladies. You wouldn't mind knowing where Misako is, would you?"

"Right here, Jay," Misako said, climbing down the stairs with Garmadon following behind, "I'm glad you could make it. I hope you aren't in the middle of anything important right now."

"Unless you mean school and creating inventions in my spare time, I have absolutely nothing to do," Jay said, "Summer can get pretty boring."

"Well, you're about to have plenty to do. We have a monastery in need of repairs. And we also need to replace our training course. The old one was burned down. Luckily we put the fire out before it could spread."

"Say no more. I'll have everything fixed up before school goes back in session." Jay walked away and headed towards the monastery.

"Misako, I thought you called for Ed to come over," Garmadon said, "That young man doesn't look like he has any experience at all."

"Well, for your information, Ed is recovering from knee surgery," Misako said, "And, as I recall, Jay is Ed's son. He's learned everything from his father. If a man can invent, a man can repair."

Garmadon sighed. "I suppose we'll have to trust him. But if he messes up once, it's over." He walks back up the stairs to the main control room.

Misako rolled her eyes as she walked over to the ninja. "Okay, girls, it's time to begin training. There's a lot planned for today, but first, we must start with our morning stretches." She looked to see three ninja present, but one was missing. "Where's Nya?"

"Standing over by the railing," Kitty said, pointing at the water ninja.

Nya was too engrossed watching Jay walking over to the monastery that she didn't expect Misako to clap her hands together in her face. This startled Nya and made her fall on the ground. She shook her head. "What was that for?"

"Training has begun. Go and join the others." Misako helped Nya up and led her over to the rest of the ninja. She began doing stretches. "Now repeat after me, girls. The Swooping Crane."

The ninja repeated this while Nya twisted her head to look in the direction of the monastery where she saw Jay taking out some tools to start the repairs. She didn't realize she had been leaning over and fell sideways, toppling over on top of the other three.

"Nya!" her teamates shouted in unison.

Misako turned around to look at the four girls piled up on top of one another. "That looks like the Bunny Pile."

"Oh, I love bunnies!" Carol exclaimed.

Misako shook her head. "Bad form. You all need to focus more." She faces away again as the girls pulled themselves together. She demonstrated another stretch. "Now, Pinching Crab."

The girls repeated the stretch. But Nya couldn't help herself as she finally turned around to get a good look at the monastery. She noticed Jay was putting up a step ladder to climb up and remove some loose boards. Nya couldn't resist the sight of his backside. And his muscles. She wasn't sure if he had any underneath his clothing, but just looking at his features was enough to make her blush.

But the moment was taken away when she felt her ponytail being tugged on. She looked behind her to see Misako with a stern look on her face. "What is so interesting that you ignore my teachings?"

"Uh, well, you see..." How could Nya tell her? She didn't want anyone to know she suddenly had a crush on the man repairing the monastery.

"I see. Well, in that case, I suppose you will be punished since you appear to be lacking in focus. There will be no free time, no television and no sun bathing for you, Nya. The rest of the day will be used for training. And tomorrow will be the same. And I'm also thinking about the day after tomorrow."

"What?!" Nya shouted.

"That's what happens when you don't pay attention," Kitty said.

"You stay out of it." Nya walked up to Misako. "You can't do this to me. I've done nothing wrong."

"You will train and that's final," Misako said.

"For how long?" Nya asked.

"Until you can answer this riddle. What is the best way to defeat an enemy?"

Nya snorted. "I already know this. Weaponry, fighting, spinjitzu and, the best move of all, the Tornado of Life."

Misako rolled her eyes. "Incorrect. Pace yourself, Nya. You have a lot of training ahead of you. Make sure you sharpen your mind as well as your Spinjitzu. Meanwhile, the rest of you will take part in an obstacle course. Wu has been preparing it for a week now."

"Oh, it sounds like fun!" Carol exclaimed.

"What's the test?" Kitty asked.

"To test your speed and to prepare you for anything out there," Misako said, "I will return for you all in five minutes. Take this time to warm up your muscles." She walks away off the bounty.

Nya sighed. "I am such an idiot!"

"What's got you so distracted?" Kitty asked.

"It's none of your business." Nya turns her attention to Pixal. "Pixal, you gotta tell us. Who saved you in your dream?"

"Oh, of course," Pixal said, "Allow me to continue. As I was saying before, the person that saved me was the Yellow Ninja."

"The Yellow Ninja?!" the other three yelled out in unison.

"What else did you see?" Kitty asked, "Was she fighting Valderra and Marga?"

Pixal nodded. "Yes. That is what the prophecy states. The Yellow Ninja would defeat the Queen of Darkness."

"But did you have a chance to see which one of us was her?" Carol asked, jumping up and down, "Did you see? Did you see? Did you see?"

"Tell us everything you saw, Pixal," Nya said, "And don't spare any details. There has to be a clue that tells us which one of us is gonna be the Yellow Ninja."

"I saw that she was using the attributes each of us posses," Pixal said, "But we must remember what our teachers said. Only a woman with a pure heart and the goodness of light within will become the Yellow Ninja."

Nya laughed. "I still don't believe that mumbo jumbo."

"But I will say one thing. The Yellow Ninja is awesome."

"Okay, girls," Misako said, walking up to the ninja, "Follow me to the obstacle course. Let's see if you all can get through it in under ten minutes." They all began walking toward the gangway, but the older woman stopped Nya. "Not so fast. You need to be training until you find the answer to my riddle. And I have tight security to watch over you to make sure you're training."

"Who?" Nya asked.

Behind her someone cleared their throat. She looked to see Garmadon who began chuckling. "You won't be going anywhere on my watch."

"Have fun," Misako said while leading the other girls off the bounty.

Nya sighed while walking over to a punching bag. "What's the best way to defeat an enemy? It could be anything. I'm smart. This shouldn't be so hard to figure out. Ugh!" She punches the punching bag so hard it ended up smacking her in the face. She fell flat on her back, seeing stars above her. "This is gonna be a lot harder than I thought."

**NEXT SCENE:**

Cold. Harsh winds. That's all the Frozen Wastelands is known for.

But it's worse when a terrifying battle between two Serpentine tribes is about to take place.

Behind some rocks covered in snow, Zelda watched as the battle was about to take place. She could hear shouts and cheers as they were taking their places on the battlefield.

"Come, warriors!" Fangtom shouted, "Let us teach-the Hypnobrai-a lesson!" But then something changed the mood when the two-headed general spotted Skales. Instead of fighting him, he smiled and said, "Skales, my old chum! I didn't think-I'd be fighting you. Hmm, moved up in the world,-have we?"

"Why, if it isn't the Fangpyre," Skales said, chuckling in glee, "Of all the cold-blooded to creep up on us, I'm glad it is a friend."

"It is so wonderful to see you again, Fangtom," Selma said, "I haven't seen you since mine and Skales' matrimonial ceremony."

"And may I say-that you have gotten-gorgeous over the years," Fangtom said.

"That's odd," Zelda said, coming out of her hiding place with a sword in her grasp, "I thought the two of you were supposed to be enemies, not old friends."

"We were at war," Fangtom said, "But seeing that Skales-is now leading them,-well, I don't see-why we can't be comrades."

"If you had released the Constrictai, the Venomari, or heaven forbid the Anacondrai, then we would've had a tussle," Skales said.

"Well, for your information, I don't plan on releasing those tribes anytime soon," Zelda said, "I've come here for a purpose."

"If it will get you out of my site, tell us why you're here," Selma said.

"I've come to lock you back in your tombs and this time I won't hesitate to throw away the key. So come with me peacefully and we can finally end this reign of terror."

The two tribes only laughed at her. Skales slithered up, laughing. "You are nothing but a laughing stock. Even when we hypnotized you, you were of no use to us. I don't even think you would make a good pig if I forced you to be one."

Fangtom slithered up next to Skales. "Besides, you wouldn't-have made a very good queen. You would be-very demanding."

Zelda growled. "I'm not playing games anymore!" She was then lifted up in the air by the tail of one of the Fangpyre vehicles, causing her to drop her sword. "What is the meaning of this? Put me down!"

Selma picked up the sword Zelda dropped and stared up at her. "I'm afraid to say that the Serpentine are through with playing games. Send her away!"

Zelda was flung in the air and ended up on the other side of the mountain with her head in the snow. She stood up and shook the frozen particles out of her hair and sighed. "Once again, I've failed to fix my mistakes. I best think up of something else."

She trekked through the snow while looking at the map to guide her to the Sea of Sands.

**NEXT SCENE**:

Back on the bounty, Nya has been spending the last hour training. She had been against the training robot for the past fifteen minutes on level three. She needed a break, but worried that Garmadon would catch her if she didn't continue. She finally turned off the robot and fell to her knees, rubbing sweat off her forehead.

"Catch!" She looked up to see a thermos heading her way. Catching it, she took a few big swigs before setting it on the ground. Garmadon walked up to her and helped her to her feet. "I don't think you'll ever beat my training record. I could train for five hours straight without stopping. No one could beat that record. But one day someone did. Six hours became the new record."

"Who beat you?" Nya asked, "Your brother?"

"Nope. It was Misako."

"Misako?" Nya laughed. "Your record was taken from you by your own wife?"

"During that time, she wasn't my wife," Garmadon said, "She wasn't even my girlfriend. She was raised a poor girl, but just like everyone else, she was given a proper education. Just not in a schoolhouse environment. She was sent home on her first day of school with a note. Her father told her that the note said she was too intelligent to attend school, so he educated her himself. When he passed, she brought all the things he ever kept of hers. She found the note and saw what it truly said."

"What did it say?" Nya asked.

"It said that she was too dumb to attend school and they refused to teach her. She cried when she read it, but later on she began to understand why her father lied to her about it. Because he saw something within her that nobody else saw: potential. That's why she always says that the best people to teach you are the ones who love you."

"And because they'll never give up on you." Nya smiled.

Garmadon nodded. "Don't tell Misako I told you any of that or she'll have my head. I just think it's better to know your instructors more than you already do. And you need to continue training."

Nya heard the other ninja walking back up the gangway, with Pixal telling them something. "...and she washed them off the bounty with a tidal wave."

"So the Yellow Ninja has to be somebody else," Kitty said, "None of us can handle all four powers at once. Because each of us already have an element."

"And she was using all the silver weapons," Carol said, "None of us can handle their power at once. Whoever this Yellow Ninja is can take care of that easily."

"Which means all of us are crossed off the list," Kitty said aloud for Nya to hear, "We're all convinced that none of us will become the Yellow Ninja."

"Crossed off the list?" Nya said, "What's going on? Why are we all convinced that none of us will become the Yellow Ninja?"

"Because the dream Pixal had was a vision," Wu said, walking passed the girls, "It proves that only the woman who is chosen to be the Yellow Ninja is strong enough to handle all four powers of life."

"Yes, and Nya, why are you not training?" Misako asked, walking over to said ninja, "I suppose you have found the answer to the riddle. What is the best way to defeat your enemy?"

"Uh, well, the best way to defeat your enemy is to...train." Nya chuckled nervously.

Wu laughed. "That answer is feeble and incorrect!" He walks down below deck.

Misako nodded. "He's right, Nya. Maybe more training will help you focus. Remember what happened to your vehicle when you lost focus. A razor-sharp weapon is an extension of a razor-sharp mind." She walks away down below deck as well.

Nya groaned. "How am I supposed to focus when I don't know who the Yellow Ninja is?"

"It ain't none of us," Kitty said, "If I were you, I'd be racking me brain to figure out the riddle. You can't just keep training forever."

The girls left to head up to the main control room while Nya stood there thinking. She heard footsteps walking up the gangway and saw that it was Jay, only this time he wasn't wearing his jacket, so his arms were bare and looked so tan and sweaty in a fashionable hot way.

He looked at her and smiled. "Hey, you know where Garmadon is? I need to plug my power drill up."

Nya hesitated, blushing redder than a tomato. He was literally talking to her. She gulped and said, "Uh, he...I think he's in the main control room."

"Yeah, he's in there," Lloyd said, walking up from the lower deck, "What's up?" He high-fived Jay.

"Nothing much," Jay said, "Good to see you again, dude." He headed up to the main control room.

Nya looked at Lloyd. "You know him?"

"Jay? Oh, yeah. Our moms used to schedule play dates for us all the time. He's a pretty cool guy. But back to business. I'm on guard watch, so you better train."

Nya groaned and began punching her frustrations out on the punching bags.

This was just not her day.

**NEXT SCENE:**

Zelda trekked through the Sea of Sands alone, thinking about what happened just a little while ago. It was what Skales said about if she had released the other tribes from imprisonment.

"What was it that Skales said?" Zelda said to herself, "If I had released the Constrictai, the Venomari, or heaven forbid the Anacondrai, then they would've had a tussle." She thought for a moment about the Anacondrai tribe and why they would be worse than the others. "I've heard of the Anacondrai, but I don't recall ever learning about them." She sits down on the ground next to a cave and takes out her book.

Clearing her throat, she read aloud to herself. "The Anacondrai are the most feared and powerful Serpentine of them all. They have purple skin, with some parts of their bodies being black. Unlike the other tribes, however, Anacondrai all had tails, and there was little to no difference between individual warriors. The generals-they are the only tribe to have more than one leader-had regal body attire and red armor. They also had black markings on top of their heads, with five of them sporting red eyes. It is assumed that when an Anacondrai's skin is bleached, it turns white and their markings become purple. But there is more to the history of the Anacondrai than by their looks and abilities..." But when Zelda turned the page, she saw that the rest of the information about the tribe had been ripped out. "Drats! The pages containing the Anacondrai information are gone!" She throws the book behind her in frustration. It hits a lever and opens the mouth of a cave.

Zelda jumps up and sighs. "Oh, dear. I suppose I have found yet another one of the tombs." She takes out her flashlight and goes inside. "Hello? Is anyone here?" She shines the light everywhere, even pointing to bones that seem to be left and right. "I fear this tribe has died out from starvation." She then shines the flashlight in front of her and doesn't expect the face of a long-necked snake. She screams. "AAHH!"

The large snake picks the flashlight up and hands it to her, speaking in a charming voice. "My sincerest apologies, young lady. I believe you dropped this. There you go. Please forgive me for my unfortunate appearance. I tend to have an unsettling effect on people."

"Oh, no need to apologize," Zelda said, "I should be the one to apologize. I'm trespassing inside of your tomb, after all."

"No, please do not think that at all. Anyone is welcomed here."

Zelda looked around. "Might I ask what happened to the rest of the tribe?"

The snake sighed sadly. "Poor, unfortunate souls. All those years, locked away with nothing to eat. Must have slowly starved away until they were just scales and bones." Zelda could've sworn she heard his stomach gurgle, but she pretended not to notice. "And who may you be, my little appetize—Uh, I mean, friend?"

Zelda giggled. "I can see why you almost called me an appetizer. You must be getting hungry yourself. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Zelda Allyman. And who may you be?"

The snake general bowed. "Humbly, I am Pythor P. Chumsworth. And since you've freed me, I am eternally in your service."

"Oh, no, no, no! You must not be my servant. I only ask you to be my friend. That is if you will join me. As long as you don't plan to trick me."

Pythor gasped. "Goodness, no! Why would I trick you? I hardly have any friends."

Zelda gasped. "Oh, you poor soul! I have quite the amount of human friends, but I have none that are Serpentine. All the Serpentine that I've met are evil and want to take over Ninjago, but I hope you are different than they are. I would like for you to become my friend. I want you to be a different example of how the Serpentine should act. Show them that they should be good and not evil. What do you say?"

"I would love to!" Pythor exclaimed, "I wish I had feet so I could dance with joy! You know, Helga-"

"Zelda," she corrected him.

"Yes, whatever. I have a feeling this is the start of a beautiful friendship."

Zelda smiled.

Perhaps she can change the heart of a Serpentine after all.

**NEXT SCENE:**

Over at the bounty, Nya continued to train, already on level six with the training robot. She finally had enough of fighting it and moved on to the punching bag. All this training was tiring her out and she getting even more frustrated because she couldn't figure out the answer to the riddle. The other ninja watched her with pity, but could do nothing about it.

"It can't be this hard to figure out a riddle," Nya panted, "What's the best way to defeat an enemy?" She finally took a break for a moment and gulped down some water. "You guys have gotta help me out here. What do you think it is?"

"I don't know," Carol said.

"It's quite puzzling," Pixal said.

"Beats me," Kitty told her.

Nya groaned. "Well, I have no clue what it is, and I'm gonna be stuck here until I figure it out. And that bothers me, because while I'm here working on this stupid riddle, that means the enemy is playing." She punched the punching bag so hard it smacked her and made her fall to the ground. "Ow! I hate this!"

And she's about to hate it even more.

**NEXT SCENE:**

In Jamanakai Village, Zelda is laughing in pleasure with Pythor as the two of them are riding around on a rented bicycle. Zelda is sitting up front steering while Pythor peddles it from behind her. Pythor spots a trash can and knocks it over, but Zelda makes him go and pick it back up. Once he did and apologized for his actions, they went back to biking.

Later, they're at the park where Pythor spots a sign that states the grass is not to be disturbed. He sees Zelda about to walk upon it, but he stopped her before she did. Smiling, Zelda took Pythor by the hand and takes him over to an ice cream cart. He thinks about actually stealing the ice cream contents inside, but Zelda stops him. She shows him that goods must be purchased before they could have it. The two left with cones of ice cream.

Over by the pond, they noticed a little girl crying. Zelda rushed over to see what the matter was to which the child pointed to her doll floating in the water. Pythor acted quickly by jumping in the water, fetching the doll and brought it back to the little girl, happiness spreading her face.

Heading back into the village, Pythor spotted a baby crying because he dropped his candy on the ground to which it was still in its wrapper. He picked it up and handed it back to the child, who laughed adorably.

The snake general this time took Zelda by the hand and led her over to the candy store, where he used the money Zelda gave him to buy some sweets. With a basket full in his hands, he gave Zelda a piggyback ride all the way back to his tomb, where the two of them were lying on the ground enjoying the goodies.

Zelda sighed in happiness. "Well, I must admit. I have never been this happy in all my life. You're the greatest friend any teenager could ever have."

"Oh, Zelda," Pythor said, "You're the greatest friend any snake could ever have. May I ask why you don't have many friends?"

"Well, I've made acquaintances along the way during my travels, but when it comes to having real friends, and I mean best friends, I'm afraid that is highly impossible for me. I could've made lots of friends back at the East Ninjago Boarding School for Gifted Girls, but I decided to leave and roam the world alone, traveling to answer questions about my family's past."

"Really? Why would you run away from making friends? Everybody needs friends, even kind and loyal princesses."

Zelda chuckled nervously. "Um, well, about that. You see, I didn't literally leave the school. I was sent away by the instructors, the students and the headmaster."

Pythor gasped. "From the East Ninjago Boarding School for Gifted Girls? I don't believe it. I hear they are the breeding ground for the truly intelligent and gifted. And believe me, you are both."

"Why, thank you, Pythor," Zelda said, "Well, they told me I was too gifted and intelligent and stated that it was best for me to educate myself because nobody could beat my high test scores."

"Well, maybe you should take your revenge on them. Show them who's boss."

Zelda gasped. "I couldn't possibly do that. Sure they were all spoiled rotten and cruel, but it wouldn't be a good idea to stoop to their level."

"But they rejected you because you were too intelligent in their eyes. Getting back at them is the only way to teach them a lesson. Besides, it wouldn't hurt to be a little bad, would it?"

Zelda gave it some thought. Those girls never treated her with any respect and always made fun of her for being too smart. She smiled maliciously and nodded. "You're right. It's time to teach the ones who refused me a proper education a lesson."

"Wonderful. I'm pretty sure all that ice cream and sweets can make you tired after eating so much, and if you want your revenge, you best get your sleep. Oh, and one more thing, Zelda."

"Yes, Pythor."

The snake general smiled. "I'll be your friend."

Zelda embraces him. "Thank you, Pythor. I hope you can prefer humans over the evil Serpentine." She lies down and closes her eyes, sleeping peacefully.

Pythor chuckled maliciously. He spotted the Map of Dens in her pocket. She had found it in some secret compartment in the school she attended. He tried taking it from her, but she rolls over, becoming too late.

No matter.

Tomorrow is a new day.

A new day to become the ruler of the Serpentine...

* * *

**WELL, GUYS, HERE'S EPISODE 7. YES, JAY IS MENTIONED IN THIS. AND YES, NYA HAS GOO GOO EYES FOR HIM. AND NOW WE'VE COME DOWN TO MEETING PYTHOR, THE LAST OF THE ANACONDRAI.**

**SO GUYS, TELL ME WHAT YOUR FAVORITE PART IS, SPOT THE DIFFERENCE AND ALL. **

**AND FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE CONFUSED, LLOYD AND ZELDA MET WHEN ZELDA WAS UNDER THE HYPNOTISM OF THE HYPNOBRAI. THERE'S NO BACKSTORY OR ANYTHING. HE JUST LEARNED HER NAME AFTER THEY MET. JUST CLEARING UP SOME CONFUSION THERE. LLOYD JUST HAPPENS TO HAVE A BIT OF A CRUSH ON HER.**

**NOW IT'S TIME TO THANK REVIWERS AND ALL READERS OUT THERE:**

**Ryry-24, The Mayor of Ninjago City, AND I am a Ninjago Fan.**

**THANKS, YOU GUYS. **

**HOPE THIS CHAPTER WAS GOOD.**

**PLEASE REVIEW.**


	8. S1 E8: The Enemy Becomes Your Friend

S1 E8

THE ENEMY BECOMES YOUR FRIEND

The next day on the bounty, the morning went by normally. Except for Nya, of course. Sure she was allowed to cease her training for the night and get some sleep after an exhausting day, but she was woke up at five in the morning to begin training once again. Then she stopped for breakfast and went right back to training afterwards.

She was starting to get irritated. And angry. She's tried every answer she could think of and none of them were right. If only someone could just come up and give her the answer so she could tell Misako and end this sweat creating work once and for all.

And it didn't help that Jay kept coming and going, showing off his flexible arms and sweaty handsome body. There was even a moment where she peeked at him from over the railing of the bounty with a pair of binoculars and caught him taking off his shirt. He didn't have a six-pack, but he had abs and a strong backbone. It was incredible how he could hold up a heavy piece of equipment without straining himself or pulling a muscle. He looked so handsome and strong. So kind and wonderful. Such a sight to look at. A piece of extravagant art is what he could be. A statue of solid gold. So pure. So hot. So handsome.

Handsome. Handsome. Handsome.

"So by spying out in the distance, you must have found the answer," said a voice behind Nya. She screamed and fell over. Misako blocked the sun from her view and glared down at the water ninja. "I'm waiting, Nya. What is the best way to defeat an enemy? I'm sure you know by now."

Nya stood up, rolled her eyes and shrugged. "I don't know. Teamwork or something like that." She turned back around and continued looking through her binoculars.

"Is that the answer you agree with?" Misako asked.

"Sure, I guess. Take it or leave it."

"Sadly, you are wrong." Misako came up and snatched the binoculars from Nya's hand. "What is more important than finding the answer to my riddle?"

"Pretty much what started all of this. An infatuation."

"Is that so?" Misako looked through the binoculars and saw the only person out there was Jay, who was busy sawing some boards in half. She lowered the binoculars and smiled at Nya. "You best be glad he's single. He may be handsome, but he can be a bit... talkative. Thankfully, he's not as bad as his parents."

"Well, I'll admit it. I have a crush on him. I may not know him, but I think he's cute no matter what anyone says. Now can I have my binoculars back?"

Misako held them away from the water ninja. "I think not. You still have not found the answer to my riddle. Once you have found the answer, you can stare at Jay all you want."

"But I don't know the answer! I've never been any good at riddles! How am I supposed to figure out the answer when I don't know the answer? This is just so stupid! I'm tired of training! I'm tired of riddles! I'm tired of everything!" She kicked a kickball all the way to the other side of the bounty. The other ninja walked by and dodged it before any of them could be hit.

Misako stood there with a straight face when Nya gave her a look of anger. The older woman kept her posture and her right mind. "Perhaps more training will do you good. And I think we'll start you off on the obstacle course this afternoon. That is if there are no emergencies." She walked down below deck.

The other ninja watched as Nya began beating up a stuffed dummy. They took pity on her and hated seeing her so miserable and exhausted. If only there was some way to help her.

"This is literally too sad to watch," Carol said.

"It was funny at first, but now this is just plain humiliating," Kitty said, "Do you think we should tell her the answer?"

"Misako gave us a strict warning to not say a word," Pixal said, "We gave her our oath."

"But just look at her," Carol said. She watched as Nya finally tore off the dummy's arms. "She's violent when she's mad."

"Boy, I never wanna get on her bad side," Kitty said, "I think we should tell her. If we get punished, then we just live with it."

They walked over to Nya, who was tearing the dummy up piece by piece. She looked up at them and fell on her hands and knees. She began shaking and, trying to choke back a sob, said, "I can't take this anymore. I'm starting to think whoever figures out this riddle can be the Yellow Ninja for all I care. So one of you needs to spit it out. What is the best way to defeat an enemy?" Silence filled the bounty for a moment until Nya finally broke it. "Well? Do any of you know?"

They all shook their heads. "No."

Nya sighed. "I might as well just give up."

The alarm begins blaring throughout the bounty. The ninja were in alert mode and ready to go.

"I wonder what's going on," Carol said.

"Who cares?" Nya said, "It's something else besides me training." They rushed inside the main control room where Kai, Lloyd and Monica were looking up at the main computer. "Break it down for me, big bro."

"We just got word that Zelda and a Serpentine have overtaken the East Ninjago Boarding School for Gifted Girls," Kai explained.

"I don't get why she would wanna go to some snoody boarding school and bother with the people there," Monica said, "I hear those girls are so stuck up. Then again, so is Zelda, in a way."

"From what I've been able to track on the school's records, Zelda was actually expelled from the school for being too intelligent and gaining higher test scores," Lloyd said, "It states that they feared she cheated. But she seems too nice to do something like that."

"And I thought the students at the Marty Oppenheimer School of Performing Arts were mean," Carol said. The others looked at her, but she chuckled nervously and cleared her throat. "Well, they weren't mean to me, in case you're wondering. But I hear this gifted school is literally the place for the most intelligent, the most wealthy and the home of some of the most bratty girls in history."

"Well, whatever the case, they still need our help," Kitty said, "And I don't know what's gotten into Zelda, but we're gonna get to the bottom of this. Let's go." She pushes the button and the bounty rises up into the air.

Lloyd sighs. "Please tell me Zelda hasn't joined the side of evil."

"I'm sure she hasn't," Carol said, clutching Theodore tightly in her arms, "It's probably just a phase. Everyone goes through them."

They heard the shuffling of feet coming inside the room and those feet happened to belong to Jay, who looked confused as to what was going on. "Uh, did you guys get a call or something? I was in the bathroom."

Nya blushed, giggling silently. "Welcome to your first mission. You get a front row seat."

Jay chuckled. "Well, thanks."

"Ninja Go!" the ninja shouted as they flew through the skies.

**NEXT SCENE:**

The East Ninjago Boarding School for Gifted Girls. The school has always been famous to every intellectual young lady in all of Ninjago. Even though they receive a proper education, they also are taught how to be proper ladies and learn the ways of a woman once they go off in the real world.

But the unthinkable happened. All the teachers, who were women, were tied up together inside the auditorium while the students were safely locked up inside their dorm rooms. Traps and pranks have been set up in every part of the school, from water buckets on the half opened doors to net traps being set everywhere.

But none of this bothered Zelda and Pythor a bit. They were too busy roller skating down in the hallways. Well, Zelda was skating in the halls. Pythor slithered beside her. For a big and tall snake, he was quite fast.

Zelda laughed. "Oh, Pythor! I haven't had this much fun in so long!"

"Neither have I," Pythor said, "And I have you to thank for that."

"So how are all the booby traps? And the pranks? Is everything in working order?"

"Every door, window, and hole inside this place are spring loaded. I promise your revenge will be a sweet one."

Zelda twirled around on her skates. "Oh, how wonderful! This will teach everyone here about refusing me the chance to succeed. I believe it is time to commence our operations to the dorm rooms."

She and Pythor started heading up to the roof. It was time to take this revenge up a notch.

**NEXT SCENE:**

Up in the sky, the Destiny's Bounty sailed in the winds as they made their way to the East Ninjago Boarding School for Gifted Girls.

It was a two hour trip to get there and because of all the distractions, Nya was free from training. But she knew that when they returned, she would have to resume. This was her only chance to figure out the answer to the riddle.

Her teachers were definitely out. No way would they give her the answer. The other ninja seemed hesitant to tell her what it is. Lloyd and Monica may know, but they probably made a promise not to say a word. And Kai may have never heard of it.

That only left Jay, but he wouldn't know. He was pretty much dragged into this. But it gave Nya a better chance to see him closer. To see those strong arms of his. How she wished she could go up there and talk to him. What was holding her back? She's never felt this way before.

Her cheeks blushed as she held up an old-fashioned camera in her hand. She held it up and snuck it over the corner of the upper deck structure, snapping a picture of Jay before he noticed.

He looked around just as Nya quickly got rid of the camera and stuck the picture of Jay in her pocket. She walked up slowly, giving out a little wave and smiled. "Hi, Jay. It's so good to see you."

Jay nodded, leaning up against the railing. "Same to you."

Nya giggled, coming up slowly bit by bit. "So, uh, how are you enjoying your first flight on an airborne ship so far?"

"I'll admit, it's pretty rad. I've flown in planes and helicopters before, but a flying ship has got to be the best out of them all."

"Yeah, I agree with you." She finally made it up to the railing, standing right next to Jay. _He's even more handsome up close, _she thought. "So how long have you been repairing and inventing and all that neat stuff?" _Neat stuff? I should know better than to call inventions and repairing neat stuff. They're some of my favorite hobbies._

"Pretty much my whole life," Jay said, "When you're born and raised in a junkyard, you tend to let your mind create whatever it wants. And my creativity comes from good scraps. I take it, clean it, and make something new out of it."

"That sounds like blacksmithing. Except you use iron to forge something new. I should know. My dad is a blacksmith."

Jay smiled. "That's a really cool comparison. Have you ever made anything in his shop?"

"Just small stuff. And a pair of nunchucks." _Seriously! Why did I say anything about the nunchucks?_

"You've made nunchucks? That's literally my signature weapon. Do you think you can show them to me sometime?"

Nya chuckled nervously. "Well, I don't have them on me right now because they're at the blacksmith shop, but once I get them, I'll show them to you." Now's the time to change the subject. "So, Jay, can I ask you something?"

The intercom system came on with Kai's voice announcing throughout the whole bounty. "Attention, everyone. We have arrived at our destination. The East Ninjago Boarding School for Gifted Girls."

Nya sighed, looking up at Jay. "Sorry. I gotta start heading out. Maybe we could talk again sometime?"

"Sure. We'll have all summer. I wish you success down there."

Nya smiled as she walked away. She saw the others getting prepared to go down inside the school. She looked over at Pixal, who was looking down from over the railing. She walked over to the nature ninja. "How's it looking down there?"

"It looks quiet down there," Pixal said, "Should we infiltrate using stealth?"

Nya shook her head. "We've done that many times before. What about using our silver weapons and turn them into some sort of vehicle? I'm sure we can think of something small."

"That won't work indoors," Kitty said, "Besides, we'll have to split up once we get inside. Anyone have any other good ideas?"

Carol gasped. "Oh, I've got one."

Kitty rolled her eyes. "It better not be the idea that we should dump chocolate pudding all over the enemy."

"No, not that," Carol shook her head, holding her stuffed teddy bear up in front of her, "This time Theodore told me a plan. But you all need to trust him."

"Oh, I don't think I like the sound of this," Nya groaned.

Any plan that comes from one of Carol's stuffed toys is never good.

Most of the time, it turns into a disaster.

**NEXT SCENE:**

Upon the roof of the school, Zelda and Pythor were preparing the ultimate revenge for the dorm rooms. With a clothes pin on her nose and rubber gloves covering her hands, Zelda removed out of the bag a skunk. The scent was so unbearable to handle, but Pythor said nothing about it. Since he's been underground for so long, horrid smells didn't bother him a bit.

"Skunks may be adorable and precious on the outside, but their stomachs never agree with them on the inside," Zelda said, handing the bag over to Pythor, "Are you sure this whole revenge shenanigan is the right thing to do?"

"Do relax, my dear girl," Pythor reassured her, "Revenge is literally the only way. None of those prissy ladies in there can stop us. And if they try, they'll be washing in tomato paste for years to come. Now let's test out our little friend." Pythor looks around and finds a lizard scurrying about. Picking it up, he brought it over to the skunk. "Let's see how he reacts to this tiny little lizard."

The lizard was trying to free himself, moving all around and swinging his little arms back and forth. The skunk thought of this as an attack and sprayed the little guy, stinking him up good.

Zelda laughed. "Even the smallest of movements startles our smelly friend. Excellent work, skunk. You've passed the test. Now to set you off in the dorms."

While those two were distracted, right above them was the bounty, preparing to land a giant anchor right on top of the school.

The ninja stood on each corner, preparing to go down. This was the plan of Carol's stuffed bear: use the anchor to get inside. A plan the others feared would turn into a disaster.

"Carol, I don't know about this," Nya said, "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Nope, but we're doing it, anyway," Carol said, "Hold on tight, girls." She gives a signal out to Kai to drop the anchor.

Kai pulls a lever and down goes the anchor. The girls scream in fear as it falls.

Zelda and Pythor hear the noise and looked above them. They jumped out of the way of the descending anchor as it crashes through the roof all the way down to the ground floor. The ninja coughed from all the surrounding dust as they hopped off the anchor.

Zelda gasped. "The ninja?! What are they doing here? There is nothing going on!"

"We must release the skunk!" Pythor said quickly, "Where is he?"

"I dropped him! Quickly, we must find that foul smelling creature!"

She and Pythor searched the roof for the skunk, oblivious to the fact that Lloyd was sliding down the chains from behind them and hid behind the chimney. He climbed up the brick structure and hid inside it, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

Down on the ground floor, the ninja were recovering from their anchor ride.

Kitty groaned. "I can't believe I'm saying this even as the Mistress of The Wild, but let's agree to never do that again."

"Who are all of you?" one of the teachers called out from the stage.

Pixal used her sais to cut the rope bounding all the teachers' together. "No need to fear. We are here to help you."

"Oh, thank you!" another teacher exclaimed happily, "We'll let you take care of things from here!"

"No need to worry," Kitty said, "Find a safe place to go." They listen and rush out of the auditorium. The wild ninja looks up to see two familiar faces tied up in chairs with duct tape over their mouths. "Well, well, well. Kruncha and Nuckal. Substitute teachers, eh?" They shook their heads. "No? Well, I can only guess you're up to no good. Now listen to me, boneheads. If we untie you, we better not catch you hanging around Ninjago again. Or else." They nodded a promise. Kitty smiled under her hood. "Good. Pixal, get them out of here."

"Of course," Pixal said. She took her sais and cut their bounds. After running around and bumping into each other a couple of times, Kruncha and Nuckal finally left out of the school.

Nya looked up to see Zelda on the roof. "It's Zelda! She's on the top floor! Let's get her!"

They all shouted, "Ninja Go!" as they began their run up to the roof.

Nya and Pixal take the stairs while Kitty climbs on the anchor chain. Carol was about to follow her up, but she ends up getting distracted by the skunk running across the stage.

The animal sorcery ninja gasped in delight. "Skunk! He's so cute! I gotta cuddle him!"

Kitty groaned in frustration. "Carol, don't touch it! It'll spray you!"

"They haven't before and they won't now!" Carol climbed up the ladder to reach the catwalk.

Meanwhile, Nya and Pixal rushed up the stairs and when they made it to the final flight, they were surprised and shocked to find a slime-like object in the way and get stuck in it. They struggled and wriggled, but they just couldn't get themselves out.

"Ugh!" Nya shouted, "This stuff is like gelatin!"

"I can't move," Pixal said.

Zelda and Pythor laugh, but their comical moment ended when they spotted Kitty climbing up. Pythor climbs down on the floor underneath the roof. "Not to worry. I'll take care of this."

Up on the catwalk, Carol finally catches up to the skunk, who hides underneath some equipment. She lowers down and speaks calmly to him. "It's okay, little guy. I'm not gonna hurt you. I just wanna keep you safe. You must have been through a lot. Well, I'll take you back home. Just come with me." She closes her eyes, reaches out her hands as bright and calm lavender purple sparkles glow in her hand. She whispers out one word: "**Ochitsuita**." The skunk is calm from the smell of lavender coming from Carol's sorcery and quickly jumps into her arms.

Carol giggled. "You're so adorable! I wonder how you got in here." She looked beside her to see a fire exit leading upstairs. "Don't worry. I'll get us both out." She took the skunk through the fire exit, heading up to the roof.

Back up on the anchor chain, Kitty climbs up and spots Pythor standing inside the room. She takes out her bow and arrows. "Prepare to eat some dust, slither head."

Pythor chuckled. "I do apologize for this, my dear lady." He pulls a rope, releasing dust to cloud up the room.

Kitty fell over coughing. Carol came up and saw her friend hacking up a storm as the dust disappeared. She rushed over to Kitty. "What happened?"

Kitty was still coughing as she said, "Zelda's got a Serpentine with her! Watch out for booby traps!"

Carol saw Pythor leaving the room quickly and trembled with fear. "Oh, that is one big snake."

Pythor made it back up to the roof just as Zelda had started panicking a bit. "Oh dear, oh me, oh my! Quickly, help me barricade the door, Pythor."

The two stick a piece of wood on the door, but Carol opens it easily and smiles, walking over to Zelda. "Hi, Zelda! Have you met my new skunk friend? His name is Stanley."

The skunk saw Zelda and sprayed her on impact. "AAAAHHHH! Oh, what an awful odor!"

Carol giggled and shrugged. "He can't help it. It's his natural instinct. So who's your new friend, Zelda?"

"Please to meet you," Pythor said, "I am Pythor B. Chumsworth. And Zelda and I are not friends." He snatches the Map of Dens out of Zelda's backpack pocket.

Zelda gasped. "Excuse me? What do you think you're doing? Return that to me at once!"

Pythor chuckled evilly. "No."

"Pythor, I... I thought we were friends." Tears welled up in Zelda's eyes. It goes to show that you can't always trust others who pretend to be friends.

"You had no plans for that at all," Pythor said, "All you wanted was for the Serpentine to be good at heart. I guess it goes to show that you can't find the good in everyone, especially in those who aren't good."

"You lied to me!" Zelda rushed up and punched Pythor in the face. "I trusted you! You deceived me! This whole revenge wasn't for my benefit at all, was it? You fooled me into becoming like you!" She tried kicking him, but she was then whipped in the face, her glasses falling off and hitting the ground. A slash mark was shown on her forehead, red and sore as can be.

Pythor slithered up to her. "I'm not a really bad snake. I'm just against all surface dwellers." He raised his fist, but before he could land a blow, out of nowhere, Lloyd came out and kicked Pythor to the ground.

Lloyd panted, holding out his sword. "You never hit a girl. Whether man or snake, you keep your fist and tails away."

Pythor growled, but regained his composure. "Sorry, you two, but I have other plans." Without warning, he disappeared before their very eyes.

Carol stood there wide eyed. "Okay, that was just weird."

Zelda sat there, with her forehead throbbing in pain and skunk smell all over her body. She cried softly to herself, hoping that would keep people away, but it only drew them closer. The other three ninja made it up on the roof just as Lloyd walked up to the teenage girl. Zelda looked up with tear stained eyes and broken glasses as she sighed. "Go ahead. Do your worst."

Lloyd put his sword away and held out his hand. "Come with us. We'll help you. We'll get you where you need to go."

"And you might wanna accept that offer because you're pretty much on the Serpentine's most wanted list," Carol said, petting Stanley.

Zelda removed her glasses, wiped her eyes, placed them back on and took Lloyd's hand. She smiled. "Thank you. I hope you can all forgive me for the terrible fate I've placed Ninjago under."

"Water under the bridge," Nya said.

The bounty came up just as the ninja led Zelda to the edge of the roof. Misako came up to the gangway. "Zelda, for your own safety, I think it's best if you come with us. And stay with us."

Lloyd linked his arm with Zelda's to ensure she doesn't escape. "I'm sure she'll come in peace this time."

Zelda sighed and nodded. "Yes, I will this time."

"So what should we do with her?" Nya asked, "I mean, there has to be some sort of punishment."

"Punishment?!" Zelda said shockingly, "Taking a pause in my true journey is punishment enough!"

"Let me think," Carol said, "We could wash her mouth out with soap for a whole year. Maybe we could ground her indefinitely. Or we could have her sit in the corner for an entire century." Everyone gave her strange looks. She shrugged. "When you have three crazy older brothers, crazy punishments are always in order."

Wu shook his head. "Simple punishments will not work in this case. I know exactly what we must do."

Zelda gulped.

She couldn't stop thinking about what will happen next.

**NEXT SCENE:**

Nighttime has fallen. The Destiny's Bounty has returned to the Mountains of Impossible Height. Everyone is standing around in Sensei Wu's room as he is reading a story, more to the benefit of Zelda, who sits on the side of his bed with a bandage covering up the whip lash wound on her forehead.

Wu had just made it to the end of the book, reading the last line. "And that is why Jack the Rabbit never trusts a snake. The end." He closes the book, receiving an applause from everyone.

Zelda smiles. "It's been so long since I've heard that story. My grandfather used to read it to me when I was little. I never realized that there was actually some meaning to it. I tried to befriend Pythor, yet he deceived me." She sighs. "I apologize for all the trouble I've caused all of you."

"You do not need to apologize, Zelda," Wu said, "Your grandfather has seen many things and has done much to contribute. Whether in good ways or bad. But the bad was for the good of Ninjago. I am sorry you never knew your grandmother, and I'm sorry about your sister's change of heart to becoming evil. But I'm sure that if your grandmother were here, this would be the first book she would ever read. Now I believe it is time for bed."

"Will you be alright without your bed?" Zelda asked, "I will be fine in my sleeping bag."

"Do not worry about me. You have been travelling for far too long. You deserve a nice warm bed to sleep in. And you may sleep in it for as long as you want. I never sleep in it, anyway. Goodnight, Zelda."

"Goodnight, Sensei Wu. And thank you."

Wu follows everyone out of the room. "Goodnight to all of you as well."

"Goodnight," everyone said.

"Why doesn't he sleep in his own bed?" Nya asked once Wu was out of sight.

"I don't know," Monica said, "I've always been too afraid to ask." She heads to her bedroom and closes the door, turning in for the night.

Carol sighs, petting her little skunk friend. "I guess I better go and let Stanley back out into the great unknown. Garmadon said that we can't keep him." She heads up to the main deck.

"I kind of have to agree with him there," Kitty said as she and Pixal went to prepare for bed.

Nya sighed as she walked over to Misako. "Misako, I want to apologize for how I acted this morning. It was my fault for getting distracted by a handsome guy and I took my anger and frustration out on you. I'll be honest, I haven't found the answer to your riddle. I still don't know what the best way to defeat your enemy is. Which is why I plan to go back outside and continue training until I do. I'll admit that the training course is my enemy, but the best way to beat it is to make it my friend." She began to walk away, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"Your punishment is over, Nya," Misako said, "You just solved the riddle."

"I did? What did I do to answer it?"

Misako chuckled. "The best way to defeat your enemy is to make them your friend."

Nya laughed. "Of course. Why didn't I come up with that analogy before?"

Misako smiled. "You know, I think Jay is still outside. How about you go and tell him good night." She turned around and walked down the hall.

Nya rushed up the main deck and saw that Jay was indeed still outside, but not for long. He was just finishing up with packing his things by the time Nya climbed down the gangway and ran over to him.

"Jay, wait!" Nya said. She stopped, placing a few feet of space between the two of them. Her cheeks blushed a bit, but she smiled and said, "I just wanted to say goodnight and I'm sorry we dragged you along on one of our missions."

"It's cool," Jay said, "To be honest, I actually had a blast. I'd love to ride this bad boy again sometime."

"Okay, well, I'll let you know when we fly again." Nya felt the wind blow and saw a water lily flower land on top of Jay's head. She giggled. "Uh, a water lily landed on your head."

Jay reached up and removed the flower from atop of there, chuckling. "So there is. This beauty must've travelled from the rivers just to get here." He handed it to Nya. "Here. This water lily belongs to the greatest water ninja around. Goodnight, Nya. See you tomorrow." Picking up his toolbox, he walked over to his truck, set the box in the bed, hopped inside the driver's seat and drove off.

Nya stood there with the water lily in her hand, taking in the beauty of the night.

She could feel love flowing in her heart.

All that training taught her something that very moment.

Distraction became her enemy, but it also became her friend...

* * *

**Japanese Translation:**

**Ochitsuita**

**English Translation:**

**Calm**

* * *

**OKAY, GUYS! HERE'S THE NEXT CHAPTER TO THIS AMAZING STORY. LOOKS LIKE ZELDA HAS FINALLY COME TO HER SENSES AND JOINED UP WITH THE NINJA. AND FOR NYA AND JAY, I THINK THIS IS THE START OF A BEAUTIFUL FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN THE TWO OF THEM.**

**DON'T FORGET TO SPOT THE DIFFERENCE AND TELL ME YOUR FAVORITE PARTS.**

**TIME TO THANK ALL THE READERS AND REVIEWERS OUT AND HERE ARE THE REVIEWERS TO THANK:**

**Ryry-24, I am a Ninjago Fan, The Mayor of Ninjago City, AND OUR NEWEST REVIEWER, Raven perez. SHE JOINED IN TO SPEAK WITH ME BECAUSE IT SEEMS THE PM ISN'T SENDING THROUGH THE EMAILS FOR THE TIME BEING, SO SHE'S BEEN REPLYING BACK THROUGH THE REVIEWS, BUT I'M STILL GONNA MENTION HER BECAUSE SHE'S A FAN.**

**AND I'LL MENTION EVERY REVIEWER, EVEN GUEST.**

**OKAY, EVERYONE, I BETTER GET GOING. **

**HOPE THIS CHAPTER WAS GOOD.**

**PLEASE REVIEW.**


	9. S1 E9: Opening a Can of Snakes

S1 E9

OPENING A CAN OF SNAKES

A week has passed since Zelda moved in the Destiny's Bounty. Things have been pretty calm the past week, but that doesn't mean the Serpentine aren't out planning any evil schemes. But until anything was detected, discovered or heard, the ninja were busy training or doing other things to pass the time.

Whistling could be heard in the bathroom as Nya was busy getting ready for the day. She had a towel over her hair and her bathrobe over her body. She picked up her bottle of lotion to rub on her legs. When she squirted some in her hand, she started feeling a sticky sensation. She sniffed it and realized that it wasn't lotion. It looked like some sort of clear white goo.

A knock came on the door.

"Who is it?" she asked.

"It's Zelda," Zelda said outside the door, "May I come inside to get my hairbrush?"

"Sure." Once Zelda came in, Nya showed her the goo stuff in her hand. "Zelda, what does this look like to you?"

Zelda looked, took a sniff, and nodded. "It looks as though someone replaced your lotion with slime made of clear glue and laundry detergent. And if I'm correct, I believe I saw Carol in here switching it around earlier." Then she gasped. "Oh, dear. Nya, I don't want to alarm you, but I think I see a strand of your hair from outside your towel and it looks... blue."

"What?!" Nya snatched the towel off her head and saw that she had blue highlights in her black hair. Her face turned from shock to anger as she yelled out one name in particular:

"CAROL!"

**NEXT SCENE:**

Around that same time in the kitchen, Carol is preparing breakfast for everyone. Two different skillets sat on the stove top, one sizzling bacon and another cooking ham and cheese omelettes. She had just taken the biscuits out of the oven as she took the omelette out of the skillet.

She smelled the air and gave a sigh of pleasure. "Oh, breakfast is smelling delicious! It reminds me of home!" She twirled around until she started smelling something that smelled... spicy. "That's strange. The only spices I added in the omelettes are salt and pepper." She then tasted the one she took off the skillet and almost gagged.

The omelette was burning hot!

It tasted like someone added hot sauce while her back was turned.

But who would do such a thing?

She looked to see Lloyd coming inside the kitchen whistling a tune. He looked at her and smiled. "Hey, Carol. What are you cooking up?"

"It's supposed to be omelettes, but they taste like someone added hot sauce in it," Carol told him, "Who would do such a thing?"

Lloyd came over and sniffed the omelette mixture. He backed away and then snapped his fingers in remembrance. "I just remembered that Kitty came in here and she was putting hot sauce in this exact bowl. I told her she would regret it, but she said your cooking could use it. I'm sorry to say that I won't be eating that." He left out of the kitchen.

Carol growled as she broke the wooden spoon in her hands.

Boy, was she mad.

"KITTY!"

**NEXT SCENE:**

Outside at that moment, Kitty was getting the obstacle course set up. She had been up since the crack of dawn working on trying to beat Pixal's record. She coated her hands in chalk dust and got herself set up.

"I plan to be the quickest at this," Kitty told herself, "I've been working at this all morning. I can do this."

"Hey, Kitty." Coming up to the wild ninja was Monica, smiling at such a beautiful morning. "What are you doing?"

"Just working on being the fastest at the obstacle course," Kitty told her, "I plan to beat Pixal's record at all cost." Taking a deep breath, she started the timer, which was strapped to her side, and ran quickly through the twisting maze, jumped over the high hedges, grabbed one of the ropes to swing to the other side, but the one she grabbed had its knot on the chain swing loosened and caused her to fall in a pile of what she thought was mud, but it turns out, it was a huge sticky puddle of syrup and honey. She gasped. "Who in the name of the Great Sensei replaced the mud with syrup and honey?"

Monica thought about it for a moment before answering. "Now that I think about it, I actually saw Pixal doing something out here. She said something wasn't right with the ropes. I guess now we know who's behind this sticky situation." She walked back up to the bounty.

Kitty stood up with syrup and honey dripping and rolling down her whole body. Her face turned red with anger.

Her wild side's really getting ticked off.

"PIXAL!"

**NEXT SCENE:**

At that same time up on the bounty, Pixal is walking up on deck in her pajamas, a blue shirt and gray pajama bottoms, to begin her daily chore of hanging the laundry.

Kai came up in his red bathrobe whistling a tune as he walked up to the laundry basket. "Morning, Pixal."

"Good morning, Kai," Pixal said with a smile, "What brings you up here?"

"I just came to pick up my jacket." Kai looked through the basket and found his jacket, but he was surprised to see it was mixed in with the light colored clothes. "That's strange. I thought red clothing couldn't be washed with the light colored."

Pixal was confused for a moment until she searched through the basket and took out her ninja uniforms. She gasped to see that they were now the color magenta. The color timberwolf can be a very lighter shade of gray and, if the clothing color was washed with something red, it can turn into a darker shade of pink to form a magenta color.

Pixal just couldn't believe her eyes. "How did this happen?"

"Well, I think it may have something to do with the fact that yesterday was Nya's day to do the laundry," Kai said, "She tends to be a little clumsy when it comes to chores."

That's all Pixal needed to hear.

"NYA!"

**NEXT SCENE:**

A few minutes later, the ninja have congregated inside the living room, each arguing with their accusers.

"I can't believe you would replace my lotion with slime and added blue hair dye in my shampoo!" Nya shouted at Carol, "My parents are coming to stay for a few days! How am I supposed to explain to them why I have blue highlights in my hair?!"

"Do you know how long it took me to prepare the perfect omelette?" Carol asked Kitty, "Three days! It took me three days! And you go off and ruin it with hot sauce!"

"Our teachers already have to tell us this a thousand times!" Kitty yelled at Pixal, "You don't mess with the obstacle course! You don't replace mud with syrup and honey and cause the person using it to become sticky! And I can beat your record if I want to! It's unlikely for you to become jealous!"

"How do you expect me to strike fear in this?" Pixal asked Nya, holding out her ninja uniform, "It's magenta! An elemental mistress must always fight in her signature colors!"

They began yelling at one another as the teachers have entered the room. Sensei Wu used his staff to open the bathroom door, revealing Monica, Lloyd, Kai and Zelda inside laughing their heads off at the ninja. Behind all of them were bottles of clear glue and clear laundry detergent, a bottle of hot sauce, empty syrup bottles and empty honey jars, and blue laundry detergent.

All to ruin the ninja's morning.

The group of girls gasped. "You four did this?"

"Oh yeah!" Monica laughed, "I used to make slime a lot when I was little and this time, I had a good excuse for making it!"

"And everything, in my opinion, taste better with hot sauce," Kai said.

"And I've always had a sweet tooth when it comes to creating something sticky," Zelda said.

"And there's a reason why my parents don't trust me with the laundry," Lloyd said.

"I can't believe it was you guys the whole time!" Carol shouted.

"Girls, I get first dibs on them," Kitty said, going up to Zelda, "Starting with the one who made me hair sticky!"

"No dibs," Sensei Wu said, stopping them before a fight started, "We put them up to this for today's lesson."

Misako nodded. "It's true. We wanted to show you the destructive power of rumors and that jumping to conclusions can only lead to trouble. Did you ever think to find out if the accusations were true?"

"Not being rude or anything, but let me jump to this conclusion," Nya said, "Today's lesson is the definition of lame."

"I have to agree," Carol said, "I mean, why can't you teach us something cooler? Why can't you just teach us to paralyze your enemy with one finger, or find out if a man is lying by the twitch of his nose? Or why can't you teach us how to detect your enemy before they get to the scene of the crime? How come you can't teach us how to become immune to the effects of the Serpentine? Or why can't you-"

"Because not all lessons are about fighting!" Garmadon yelled out. He took a deep breath before continuing on. "And we couldn't give you a better lesson, anyway. The old coot misplaced the lesson book."

"I did no such thing!" Wu shouted, "You were supposed to be guarding it!"

Nya looked to see something in Misako's back pocket. She walked over and took it, showing it to the brothers. "You mean this lesson book?"

"Misako!" the brothers said in unison.

Misako giggled. "What can I say? The power of rumors can be destructive."

"You must admit, it was the perfect plan," Zelda said, "You all were so quick to accuse one another that you didn't think about searching for the facts."

Nya couldn't stop pointing her hair at the mirror in her hand. "I can't believe you did this, Monica. My parents are gonna flip out when they see blue highlights in my hair."

"I wasn't the one who messed with your shampoo," Monica said, "I only messed with you lotion. But I do recall seeing Kai go inside the bathroom after me with a blue bottle in his hand."

Nya gasped and stared daggers at her brother. "Kai!"

Kai groaned and looked at Monica. "You just had to peek, didn't you?" He stared up at his sister and sighed. "Yes, I poured blue hair dye in your shampoo, but I'm only getting back at you for replacing my hair gel with baby oil."

"Only because I caught you reading my diary!" Nya shouted.

"That was three months ago! Can't you just let it go? Secrets can't be hidden forever!"

"I can't believe you! Mom and Dad are gonna be so mad when they find out what you did to my hair!"

"Well, they're gonna be mad at you when they find out about the picture that you have of Jay!" Kai removed the photo of Jay that Nya took a week ago out of his jacket pocket.

Nya gasped. "Give me that picture! It doesn't belong to you!"

"You'll have to take it from me!" Kai ran out of the room with the picture clutched in his hand.

"Give it to me!" Nya ran out after him.

Carol looked at Misako. "When exactly are their parents gonna be here?"

Before Misako could answer, a car horn could be heard outside.

Looks like the Smith parents have arrived.

**NEXT SCENE**:

Outside, Ray and Maya had just parked the pick-up truck and were now walking up towards the damaged monastery. It was sad to see what the Serpentine had done. Maya remembered the place by heart. Ray had only ever found it as a teenager, but it felt like home to him.

But the kids weren't ready to know about that.

Maya looked around. "I wonder where this Destiny's Bounty is."

"It's gotta be somewhere around here," Ray said. He looked to see Jay up on a ladder hammering in some new boards and walked over to him. "Excuse me, sir."

Jay looked down and gave a smile. "Hello. How can I help you?"

"We're here to visit our kids and need help finding a Destiny's Bounty. Do you know where it is?"

Jay pointed out straight. "Sure do. It's right up ahead."

Ray nodded. "Thanks." He walked back over to his wife as they continued moving forward. "He looks awfully young to be a repairman."

"Well, some people are gifted at a young age," Maya said, "I hope the kids are behaving themselves."

"I'm sure they're getting along." But as soon as he said that, he and Maya spotted both of their children running around the ship, going down the gangway like the speed of light.

"Give it back, Kai!" Nya shouted in the distance.

"No!" Kai yelled out.

Nya finally jumped on Kai and the two of them landed in a big mud puddle. They started wrestling with one another, coating themselves in wet mud.

Ray sighed. "I spoke too soon."

The two of them walked over to their children and watched them for a minute. It was a little funny seeing them wrestle in mud, reminding the two of them when they were little kids and they always had something to fight about. But they were teenagers now and wrestling with one another was not going to solve anything.

Maya crossed her arms and gave a smirk. "Would you take a look at this, Ray? Two little piggies rolling around in the mud."

"I see that, Maya," Ray said, "I'm just wondering what the problem is. Since these two aren't so little anymore."

The siblings gasped as they scrambled to stand up. Kai had the photo behind his back while Nya kept trying to grab it. They both smiled and said, "Hi, Mom and Dad!"

Ray shook his head while walking over to Kai and taking away the photo of Jay from behind his back. "Let's see what we've got here." He looked at it, then looked back at his son. "Is there a reason why you have a photograph of the repairman fixing up the monastery?"

"It's Nya's," Kai said, "She has a crush on him and he's around my age."

"Darn you, Kai!" Nya said angrily.

Maya gasped. "Nya, what did you do to your hair? I told you no crazy highlights!"

"I didn't do this on purpose," Nya said, "It's Kai's fault! He put blue hair dye in my shampoo!"

"Only because she replaced my hair gel with baby oil!" Kai shouted.

"Only because you read my diary!" Nya shoved her brother in the mud.

Kai screamed. "You are so difficult to live with!"

"You know, it's one thing to have the granddaughter of the dark queen live with us, but having you here is not necessary! This is a ninja headquarters! And you are not a ninja! You're not even a hero! So what's the point of having you here?"

Maya sighed. "Okay, I think it's time we separated the two of you for a little while. Both of you go to your rooms and get cleaned up."

"And while you're at it, the both of you need to start planning your apologies," Ray told them.

"Oh, I'll apologize after he fixes my hair." Nya stormed off.

"And I'll fix your hair once you apologize." Kai storms off as well.

The both of them realize they're going the same way and yelled out, "Stop following me!" before continuing on.

But they didn't get very far since everyone else started walking off the bounty.

Kitty laughed. "Looks like your parents stopped the fight before we could. And may I say it's a pleasure to see you again, Mr. and Mrs. Smith. From what Nya's been telling us, you'll both be staying with us for a few days."

"We certainly are," Maya said.

"Sorry to say this, but the ninja have to head out," Lloyd said, "We do have a snake problem on our hands. Let's head to the bridge."

Everyone piled inside the bridge, where Lloyd began typing up the map on the computer. Kai walked over to him. "Have you found any sightings of Pythor?"

"No sightings of Pythor, but that doesn't mean he's not up to something drastic," Lloyd explained, turning to face everyone, "Last we heard of Pythor, he stole the Map of Dens from Zelda and is now on his way to open the last two Serpentine tombs."

Zelda sighed, thinking back to her mistakes. "Don't remind me."

"Pythor's out most dangerous threat," Wu said, "If he finds those tombs before we do, with his intellect and all four tribes unleashed, there's no telling what he'll do."

"It's a disaster waiting to happen," Garmadon said.

"But those tombs could be anywhere," Carol said, "Without the map, we might as well just throw darts at a regular old one."

"Good idea," Kai said, holding up two darts, "Let's do that." He threw them straight at where Nya was, but she ducked in time for them to hit two targets on the map.

"The two locations Kai just marked are the locations of the Hypnobrai and Fangpyre tombs," Lloyd said.

"Go ahead and applause," Kai said, "I know how to impress."

Nya growled under her breath. "You are such a show off."

"What was that?" Kai cupped a hand over his ear.

"Get out of my sight!" Nya shouted, making everyone jump.

Lloyd cleared his throat. "Shall I continue? Thank you." He threw a dart of his own at a certain location on the map. "Where I just landed the dart at is Pythor's tomb. After many hours of research and ruminating on why the tombs were placed in these three precise locations, I discovered a secret pattern." He shines a flashlight on the screen which shows a symbol of two serpents twisted together. "If you notice, all three are in line with the Ninjago symbol for serpent."

Zelda walked up and pointed to where the other two Serpentine tribes were located at. "So the last two tombs must be here and here. Incredible! I had no idea you knew so much about the Serpentine. You are very intelligent."

Lloyd blushed a bit and chuckled. "Well, there was never a doubt in my mind about it."

"We have little time on our hands," Garmadon said, "Nya and Carol, you head to the Venomari Tomb. Kitty and Pixal, you take the Constrictai Tomb."

"And take this." Wu handed Kitty the sacred flute. "You might need it if you run into Pythor."

Kitty nodded. "We'll make sure to return it."

"Good luck, ninja," Misako said.

"Can I go with them?" Monica asked.

Wu's eyes widened as he tried coming up with an answer. "Um, well, I...I think it's time you went to do the dishes. It's your day to do the dishes, Mon Mon."

Monica rolled her eyes. "Yes, Dad." She walked out of the room.

Lloyd chuckled. "I guess I better go and get some training in. You coming, Kai?"

"I got other plans," Kai said, walking out of the room.

Ray pulled on Kai's hair. "The only thing you've got planned is to help your mother and I with bringing in our bags." He dragged Kai out of the room with Maya following behind.

Zelda walked up to Lloyd. "If it's not too much trouble, perhaps I could assist you in your training. I'm pretty good with sparring."

Lloyd shrugged. "Okay." The two headed over to the lower deck.

"Let's go, girls," Kitty said, "We got some snakes to club." They rushed out to head over to their dragons. Since they're splitting up, they won't be able to transform their weapons into one vehicle.

Garmadon sighed, looking up at the map. "Where are you, Pythor. What are you up to?"

Indeed.

Where exactly could Pythor be?"

**NEXT SCENE:**

The Mountain of a Million Steps. It lives up to its name because of how tall it is. Flying in on their dragons and landing right in front of it were Pixal and Kitty.

Pixal took one look at her ninja uniform and sighed. Magenta was definitely not her color.

"Well, our dragons can't set us on the very top," Kitty said, "We'll just have to go on foot."

"But this is the Mountain of a Million Steps," Pixal said, "Aren't we pressed for time?"

Kitty nodded. "We are. That's why we're taking a shortcut. Hop on me back." Pixal nodded and did just as Kitty said.

Kitty threw a rope up on the top with a hook embedding into the stone. She began climbing up it as if it were a vine from the jungles. But because she had only one rope, she had to carry Pixal on her back, and boy was that girl heavy. It wasn't easy climbing and carrying extra weight at the same time.

"I hope I'm not holding on too tight," Pixal said.

Kitty panted. "Nope, you're light as a feather, Pinky."

"In case you're mistaken, the unfortunate color of my uniform is magenta."

"Whatever. We're almost there."

It was a few minutes later when they reached the entrance of the Constrictai tomb, only to find out that it's been opened.

"I am afraid to say that Pythor has already been here," Pixal said, "Perhaps we should investigate to see if we cannot gather information."

Kitty panted, exhausted after climbing up the mountain. "Sure, but just give me a few seconds." After a few deep breaths, she regained her heart rate. "Okay, I'm good. Let's go."

The two jump inside, looking around to see if they couldn't detect any snakes or fossilized ones. But all they found were some strange images on the walls.

"Didn't mama snake ever tell them not to draw on the wall?" Kitty said, "My mama sure told me a whole lot. And I was bad about drawing with permanent markers."

"These images describe a legend about one tribe uniting them all," Pixal explained.

"Why would they want to unite with one another? Those slither heads have been at war with each other for centuries."

Pixal looked closely at the drawings. "Well, it says here, once they unite, they can find the Four Silver Fangblades that will unleash the Great Devourer, an evil that will consume all of the land, turning day into night."

Kitty laughed. "Ha! I can't believe you were able to predict that from some little old pictures that only a child could ever draw."

Pixal sighed. "This worries me. If Pythor's not here and unites all the tribes together before Nya and Carol find him, then I fear dark times are ahead for Ninjago."

Kitty rolled her eyes. "Would you relax, Pixal? You know as well as I do that they're a bunch of dumb snakes who believe in fairy tales. If anything, we've got all the..." She paused, feeling the ground move. "Did you feel that?"

"Feel what?" Pixal asked.

"There's something in the ground. Don't move."

The two held still for a moment until a giant black snake with a long tail and a staff grasped in his hand popped up from underground and wrapped Pixal up in a tight squeeze.

"Greetings," the snake said, "I am Skalidor, general of the Constrictai. I've been waiting for you. Pythor sends his regards."

"Did you stay behind just to tell us that?" Pixal said, trying to squirm her way out of his tail, "You are pathetic."

Skalidor chuckled. "Look who's calling who pathetic, Pinky."

"Nobody calls her Pinky but me!" Kitty shoots out an arrow with a vine wrapped around the end. It shot Skalidor in the tail, causing him to yelp in pain. She pulled his tail while also pulling out the arrow, unwrapping it to free Pixal from the general's clutches. Once Skalidor buried himself underground, they took this opportunity to escape. "Pixal, grab the rope! We can use it to climb out of here!" But Kitty winds up falling in a hole created by the snake. "Whoa!"

Pixal gasped. "Kitty?"

Kitty was shot back up on the surface with Skalidor following her lead. She hopped up and took out the sacred flute, playing the music it was born to create. It may sound beautiful to a human, but a serpent couldn't stand the sound of it. Skalidor held his ears as he stretched out his tail to grab Kitty by the throat, choking her to prevent her from playing the flute.

"Pixal," she gasped out, "Help...me."

"Ninja Go!" Pixal used Spinjitzu to grab the flute. She played it, hoping it would break him to let Kitty go before she ran out of oxygen. After a few seconds, Skalidor couldn't stand it and covered his ears, loosening his hold on Kitty in the process.

"Watch your face!" Kitty shouted while punching the Constrictai general in the face, knocking him out and causing him to hit the ground. Kitty growled. "My fist was coming for you!"

Pixal sighed in relief. "Good move."

Kitty nodded. "Thanks. But if he was expecting us, I think Nya and Carol are walking into a trap. Come on. Let's get out of here."

The two climbed out of the Constrictai tomb, leaving the general lying in an unconscious state. It wasn't too long until a few of his warriors came up and took him with them underground.

This trap is definitely planned.

**NEXT SCENE:**

In the green, disgusting and horrible smelling jungles of the Toxic Bogs, Nya and Carol were dropped off in a tree by their dragons. There wasn't a place for them to land, so they had to fly off to find a place outside the bogs to rest their wings.

Carol took one sniff of the air and scrunched her face up under her mask. "Eww! What is that foul odor? Was that you, Nya?"

"It wasn't me," Nya said, "We're in the Toxic Bogs. This place is filled with smells. Plus, the pond here will eat through you worse than Kai's chili." To prove her point, Nya took a stick, dipped it in the green toxic liquid, and when she took it out, it was smaller than before.

Carol gasped. "I don't plan on that happening anytime soon. Looks like we're traveling through the trees."

Jumping from tree to tree, they spot a patch of land free from toxic acid and found the Venomari Tomb. They walked over to open it, but all they got was a stench of snake odor.

"Yuck!" Carol exclaimed in disgust. When she said that through the tunnel, it echoed back. She giggled. "How amazing!"

Nya sighed. "Let's just make this quick before Pythor gets here. The sooner we figure something out, the sooner we can get back to the bounty so I can figure out a way to color my hair back to normal." She then heard something from behind them and walks away from the tomb. "Is someone out there?"

Carol looks at Nya. "Everything alright, Nya?"

Nya hesitates, looking around before answering. "I thought I heard something."

"Well, this place looks empty. We must've just missed them. Check this out." Carol looks inside the tunnel of the tomb and echoes her voice through it. "They say you're the Yellow Ninja, but I say kindness!" The word "kindness" echoed back. She giggled. "A heart of gold!" _Gold! gold!_ echoed through the tunnel. She then took out Theodore and had him speak. "Hello!" _Hello! Hello! _Carol giggled.

Nya rolled her eyes, wishing Carol would take missions a little more seriously. She heard a croaking sound and took out her fans, only to find out that the sound came from a frog. She sighed in relief. "You shouldn't sneak up on people like that. If I wasn't such a well-trained ninja, something bad might have happened to you." The frog jumped off the lily pad, only for a Venomari snake warrior with a light green color of scales to rise up out of the bogs. He spits out venom in Nya's eyes. "Ahh!" Her eyes turn a glowing green as she starts to hallucinate, seeing the snakes turning into elves and gingerbread people. She started backing away. "Carol? Carol!"

But Carol was too busy playing around with her echoes. "No, I'm the real Carol!" _Carol! Carol!_

More Venomari warriors began surrounding Nya, but in her eyes she could only see elves and gingerbread people with red menacing eyes. "Oh, this is not good! Carol! Carol!" Carol stopped her little echo game and gasped, rushing over to her friend, who basically dropped her weapon and cowered like a little girl. "There's so many! Elves and gingerbread people everywhere!"

_What's going on with Nya?_ Carol thought, _She never acts this way._

Carol took out her bo staff, trying to calmly talk to Nya. "Nya, listen to the sound of my voice. It's going to be okay. I don't know what you're seeing, and I'm pretty sure it might be traumatizing, but this is no time to lose yourself. I need you beside me to help me fight."

Nya stood up, panicking like there was no tomorrow. "I've never fought little people before! We're toast, Carol! Toast, I say!"

Just at the nick of time, Kitty and Pixal arrived, landing on the ground in a fighting stance and ready to aid their friends.

"You girls need some help kicking butt?" Kitty asked.

_Butt! Butt!_ echoed through the tunnel, causing Carol to laugh. "Now that was funny!"

But, out of nowhere, Pythor came out and yelled, "Boo!" Carol screamed in fright. Pixal took out the sacred flute and began playing it, but the Anacondrai snatched it out of her hands before she got the chance for the sound to take effect. "Oh, let's not let music ruin things." The Venomari backed the ninja up until they landed on a log which was sinking into the bog. Pythor chuckled. "I've got a sinking feeling this may be the last I see of you four."

Kitty growled. "It's official. I hate snakes."

Nya gasped. "Wait, do you see that? A magic floating rope. We can climb to safety."

Carol grabbed Nya before she fell into the bog. "Okay, that Venomari venom is some powerful stuff."

The Serpentine laughed at their demise. The log continued to sink into the bog. The ninja feared for the worst, thinking that this could be the end.

Pixal sighed. "For whatever it is worth, it was an honor to fight beside you all. I am glad to call you my sisters."

"Same here," Kitty said, "If we're going down, I'm glad to know we're going down as heroes."

"I'll miss you all terribly," Carol said, tears in her eyes, "I'm happy to call all of you my best friends."

But at the spur of the moment, a rope drops down, dangling in front of them.

"What in the world?" Kitty asked, bewildered.

Nya gasped. "The magic rope! It's here!"

Carol takes Nya to help lead her up the rope. "Quick, girls! Climb up and swing over!"

Appearing from in the air on a jet pack was a red samurai, clad with a samurai helmet, red painted iron made armor upon their body, and a black mask covering the lower half of their face. Taking out a pair of swords, they began attacking the Serpentine, taking down one after another.

A couple of snakes were watching this mysterious samurai fight them. What they weren't prepared for was a ninja clad in green to come up and karate chop the both of them in the back of the heads, knocking them out cold.

The ninja hid up in the trees as they watched the fight go on. Most of the Serpentine finally retreated, all except Pythor. But the samurai and ninja in green weren't letting him go so easily.

The samurai spoke to the ninja in a mechanical sounding male voice. "Pythor target confirmed. Time to bag and tag."

The ninja nodded and takes out a blow dart shooter.

Pythor gives a look of fear. "Oh, dear." He runs away, but the ninja uses a green power of light and blasted it through the hole of the blow dart shooter, sending the dart flying straight at Pythor, making contact with his long purple tail.

The ninja climbed out of the tree, walking over to their saviors.

"That was amazing," Kitty said, "Who are you two?"

"Can I just say that was the most incredible thing I've ever seen?" Carol exclaimed.

"Is that you, Santa?" Nya asked, "Did you bring along your head elf?"

Pixal walked over to them. "Thank you, mysterious warriors. My friends and I owe you our lives for saving us." But the samurai sprays chloroform in Pixal's face, rendering her unconscious.

Carol gasped. "Hey, that wasn't nice!"

But the mysterious ninja sprays the rest of the ninja, knocking them all out. The two mysterious warriors take their leave, with the samurai flying up on their jet pack and the ninja with their grappling hook, swinging from tree to tree.

The ninja were sprawled about on the ground, sleeping soundly in the opening fields of the Toxic Bogs. It was only a few minutes later when the Destiny's Bounty came flying overhead.

Home came to pick them up...

* * *

**OKAY, GUYS, LOOKS LIKE KAI AND NYA'S PARENTS HAVE COME TO STAY FOR A FEW DAYS. AND THOSE TWO ARE PRETTY MUCH IN A BIG FIGHT RIGHT NOW. AND, BY THE WAY, PIXAL IS NOT PINK. SHE'S MAGENTA. **

**SO GUYS, SPOT THE DIFFERENCE OR TELL ME YOUR FAVORITE PART. YOU GUYS KNOW YOU WANT TO.**

**THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE READERS OUT THERE. NOW TIME TO THANK SOME REVIEWERS:**

**I am a Ninjago Fan, The Mayor of Ninjago City, Ryry-24, AND QueenStarBlaster21. YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME.**

**OKAY, GUYS, I'LL TRY TO HAVE A CHAPTER OUT BEFORE OR BY VALENTINE'S DAY. THAT WAY YOU GUYS WILL HAVE A NEW UPDATE FOR THAT SPECIAL HOLIDAY OF LOVE.**

**I PLAN TO EAT CHOCOLATE AND READ NINJAGO FANFICTION. IN CASE YOU GUYS ARE WONDERING.**

**WELL, HOPE THIS CHAPTER WAS GOOD.**

**PLEASE REVIEW.**


	10. S1 E10: The Destructive Power of Rumors

S1 E10

THE DESTRUCTIVE POWER OF RUMORS

_The Toxic Bogs._

_A land filled with horrid smells and green disgust._

_The four ninja stood on a long, sinking and disintegrating in the bog. They feared the end was near, but a samurai in red armor and a ninja dressed in green come in to save them._

_After they defeat the snakes by running them off, Pixal walks over to them. "Thank you for rescuing us." _

_But they knocked the ninja out in a heartbeat, spraying them unconscious._

_Before she passed out fully, Pixal looked up and saw the Robin. The bird looked down and said,_

_"I know who you are, Pixal."_

_The tree the Robin was perched upon spoke a few words before the darkness over took her. _

Protect those around you and they will protect you.

(Space line)

Pixal's eyes shot open. She placed a hand over her forehead, looking around at her surroundings. She was back on the bounty in the bedroom she shared with the other ninja, dressed in her night shirt and pajama bottoms. She sat up, careful not to smack her head on the top bunk of the bed. She got out of bed and saw the other three sound asleep.

It wasn't too long until the others started to stir awake themselves. Carol was clutching her stuffed bear while rubbing her eyes. Kitty groaned, placing the pillow over her head to shield herself from the light. Nya began mumbling incoherent words, but all in all, she was in the process of waking up, too.

The door opened, revealing the teachers and Nya and Kai's parents. Sensei Wu gave a small grin. "I see you all are starting to wake up. Or have already gotten out of bed."

"My teachers, how did you all find us?" Pixal asked.

Carol sat on the side of the bed, clutching Theodore tightly. "And who dressed me in my night clothes?"

Kitty growled, throwing her pillow aside. "If it was one of them boys, I'll rip them to shreds."

"It was Maya and I who took care of that," Misako said.

Nya sat up, rubbing her eyes. "Ugh, why does my head hurt so much?" She opened her eyes, took one look around, and sighed. "So none of it was a dream. I was sprayed with some green stuff and now everything looks strange."

"Ah, yes," Garmadon said, "Venomari venom. It can cause you to see things differently and prevent you from fighting them back because you're too concerned seeing something else. I've never been through it, but Misako has."

Misako sighed. "Don't remind me."

"Oh, I'll never forget it. Those pandas were just waiting to hunt you down. They're very calm creatures as long as you don't bother them."

Wu chuckled. "The important thing is that you're all awake and safe. I'm sure you all are famished. Let us talk about your mission over dinner."

Everyone gathered around the dinner table as the ninja began to explain everything that happened. From the discovery found in the Constrictai tomb to the battle at the Toxic Bogs. Then they came to the part about the mysterious samurai and the green ninja.

"Just when we thought we were doomed, this mysterious red person and a ninja dressed in green came out of nowhere and started fighting the Serpentine," Carol explained, "They literally saved us from getting sizzled. I'm just wondering who they were."

"I could tell that the mysterious person in red was a samurai," Pixal said.

"I've heard of them," Zelda said, "Samurai are known as the highest level of warrior class. They would protect nobility and serve with honor on the battlefield."

"Who has taught you about them?" Wu asked.

Zelda smiled. "My grandfather. He's a big history buff."

"They looked to be a normal samurai, but they were also heavily armed," Nya said, "And the mysterious green ninja had some sort of power within them that they used to shoot a blow dart into Pythor. Not really sure if it affected him or not." She gasped and leans to whisper in her mother's ear. "Mom, look at Sensei Wu's beard." Through her sight, Wu's long, white beard looked to be slithering around. "It's moving like snakes. Isn't that crazy?"

Maya chuckled. "I can imagine how crazy it is, sweetheart."

Kai rolled his eyes. "When is this Venomari spit supposed to wear off?" He watched as Nya tried to feed herself a piece of shrimp, but ended up splatting it on the side of her face. "As if she wasn't already annoying enough."

"Kai, I'm in no mood to argue," Nya told her brother, looking around the table, "Where are you, by the way?"

"I'm sitting right next to you. How can you not see me? Boy, I hope that stuff makes you go blind."

"Kai, you heard what your sister said," Ray said, "Stop arguing now."

Kai sighed. "Yes, Dad."

"Okay, great," Carol said, "Now that Kai no longer has anything important to say, let's discuss more about the samurai."

"No, it's time to get back to important matters," Kitty said, "No more distractions. All the Serpentine are out, and if Pythor can unite them, the legend states some Great Devourer is gonna consume the land and turn day into night."

"Great Devourer?" Lloyd asked, "What kind of a name is that?"

Kitty shook her head. "I don't know, but it's a can of worms I don't wanna see open."

Zelda sighed. "I deeply apologize for all this. This is all my fault. I opened up the hatch and released the Serpentine from their prisons. None of this would've happened if only I hadn't of been so stubborn and just went with all of you."

Lloyd placed a hand on Zelda's shoulder. "It was only a mistake. You had no idea the Hypnobrai tomb was right in your sights."

"I most certainly did." Zelda placed her head in her hands. "And now I have endangered all of Ninjago."

"We cannot change the past, but we can affect the future," Wu said.

"At least we have the sacred flute in our possession, so in a way, we still have a chance to defeat them," Misako said, "It has stopped them once and it will stop them again."

"Yeah, that's what we need to tell you," Carol said, spilling her tea cup over, "There's one little teeny tiny, itty bitty problem that concerns the sacred flute."

"Pythor sort of... stole it," Pixal admitted.

Garmadon gasped. "The last sacred flute is gone? How could you let Pythor take it?"

"I was playing it and he took it from me. Forgive me, my teachers. I am to blame for the lost of the sacred flute."

"Pixal, you know good and well that not one of us takes the blame," Kitty said, "We all are to blame for its loss."

Wu sighed. "You four are Ninjago's last hope."

It was only a moment later when the alarm blared throughout the entire bounty. Everyone rushed inside the main control room, looking up at the computer to spot where the Serpentine are located at.

"If the cold vision's caught something, that means the Serpentine are near," Monica said, "And the location's pinpointed in Ninjago City."

"Of course," Pixal said, "The city is filled with various hiding spots. Places not even the authorities can detect them."

"How many of the tribes are there?" Nya asked.

"It appears to be all of them. Pythor must be trying to unite them."

"If Pythor does this, chaos will be spread all throughout Ninjago," Garmadon said.

"Go, ninja," Wu said, "We mustn't let the five tribes unite."

"And be careful out there," Maya said.

"You got it," Kitty said.

"Ninja Go!" the ninja shouted as they rushed into the training room, using spinjitzu to change out of their night clothes and into their ninja attire. All except Nya who was still in spinning mode.

Pixal sighed at her suit. "I must get this taken care of. Magenta is not my color."

Because of the Venomari venom, Nya loses focus on her spinjitzu and falls on the floor, still wearing her pajamas instead of her ninja gi. She groans. "I wish my eyes were back to normal."

Carol helps Nya to her feet. "Don't worry. It'll wear off soon. For now, you're coming with me. And so are the rest of you."

"What are you talking about?" Kitty asked.

"Well, since Nya can't use her weapon because her eyes are out of focus, I'll be able to get us all down there faster by flying."

Kitty scoffed. "What can you possibly turn into to carry all of us?"

"One of the largest birds in the world." Carol used the power of her bo staff to turn into the Great Grey Owl. "And also my favorite. The great grey owl."

Kitty's mouth was agape. "How did you turn so gigantic?"

"Oh, Misako's been teaching me that I can become a bigger animal by just thinking bigger," Carol said, "Plus I've always wanted to fly at night. Who wants to fly a giant owl?"

"Like we have any other choice." Kitty sighed. "Let's go."

Carol, in her owl form, flew her friends through the skies and went above Ninjago City, landing in the exact spot where the Serpentine would be. The three ninja jumped off Carol as she transformed back into her human form.

Even though they were in a dark alley, they could see the beauties of Ninjago City. The lights, the sounds and the dreams.

"Ninjago City," Nya said, "This place is amazing. My parents have told my brother and I stories about this place. They actually came here once. I think it was their honeymoon."

"Pixal, don't you live here?" Carol asked.

Pixal nodded. "I do. I can actually see my father's tower from here."

"Me parents told me it's the biggest city in all of Ninjago," Kitty said, "Always had dreams of coming here. And to be placed on a billboard. Just to show everyone who I am."

"I've always had dreams of becoming a singer," Carol said, "And an actress."

"I always dreamed of inventing the future," Nya said, "You never know what tomorrow will bring."

"Do not forget the real reason why we're here," Pixal reminded them, "Where are the snakes? We should be standing in the middle of a massive Serpentine gathering."

"I don't get it," Kitty said, "The map showed us they would be right here. Where are those slither heads?"

Carol gasped. "I think I know." She rushed over towards the end of the alley and discovered a manhole with the metal lid removed and tossed on the side carelessly. "The snakes have the best hiding places."

Kitty sighed. "I've said it once and I'll say it again. I hate snakes."

**NEXT SCENE:**

Inside the gathering of the sewers, the Serpentine of all tribes are standing around chattering to one another while Pythor is getting ready to prepare what he plans to say. Skales is standing next to him, ready to assist in the best way possible.

"You'll have to use more than words to bring the Serpentine together," Skales said, "We have been enemies for years. It won't be easy."

Pythor gave a pleasant smile. "All I have to do is show them the way. And I have the perfect plan. Each tribe judges one another because of how different each of them are. Well, I have a solution to that problem."

Selma rushed up to her husband. "My love, you won't believe this. I just became friends with a female Venomari and she shared her recipe on how to make venom stew. I haven't had a batch of that in years. I shared my famous ice pudding recipe with her. If we can bring the tribes together, we can bring together all the Serpentine ladies to help prepare a feast and create a new holiday."

Pythor nodded, licking his lips. "A holiday just for the Serpentine. I like the sound of that."

"Let us hope we can bring the tribes together to make it happen," Skales said.

Acidicus, leader of the Venomari tribe, slithers up to the three snakes. "They're ready for you, Pythor."

Pythor chuckled evilly. "Showtime." He slithers up to the make like stage, which is also known as the catwalk in the sewers. "Good evening! Friends, enemies, and enemies who pretend to be friends." He paused to let the warriors laugh before continuing. "I welcome you. We are gathered here to settle our differences. Because no matter how different we are, we can still be friends."

From above, the ninja were hiding behind a wall on top of the catwalk, listening to Pythor's little speech. They were also surprised at the amount of snakes gathered down there.

"I don't think I've seen that many snakes in one room before," Carol said, "What are we gonna do?"

"We must keep them from coming together as one," Pixal said, "If only we knew of a destructive mechanism to keep them separate."

Nya gasped as a light bulb of an idea appeared over her head. "Girls, I have an idea. Follow my lead."

While the ninja planned out their strategy, Pythor continued his speech to help bring the tribes together.

"And what is it with the Constrictai and their vice-like grip?" Pythor said, "Let it go already." The Serpentine laughed.

Skalidor was rolling around on the floor, laughing his head off. "It's funny because it's so true."

Pythor cleared his throat. "It's always good to bring out a good laugh. But in all seriousness, the reason why I called this gathering is because...the good people of Ninjago imprisoned us in those insidious tombs, and I want to return them the favor. We shall lock them up in the tombs and become the true rulers of the land. All hail the Serpentine!" The tribes cheered in excitement.

What they didn't notice was Nya sliding down a rope from up on the catwalk, hiding in the darkest part of the room. She smiled underneath her hood and called out, "That sounds like a great plan and all, but you know the Hypnobrai will screw it up. They always do."

"Who said that?" a Hypnobrai warrior shouted.

"It was the Constrictai," another Hypnobrai said, "They've always had something against us."

"Look at the Fangpyre and their buck teeth," Carol said, "They're so big, they could end up biting themselves."

"That is not true!" a Fangpyre warrior shouted.

"I bet the Venomari go through hallucinations all the time because they drink their own venom," Kitty said.

"We do not!" a Venomari warrior exclaimed angrily, "You Hypnobrai are always trying to make fun of us!"

"The Constrictai are clueless about everything," Pixal said, "I bet all that digging must have given them dirt for brains."

"We are not clueless!" shouted a Constrictai warrior.

The tribes began arguing and fighting one another, making Pythor wonder why his plan wasn't working. "What's going on? Why am I losing them?"

Skales shrugged. "I don't know. Perhaps we should try something else."

Selma watched the warriors fighting and gasped when she saw Kitty climbing up the rope. She gasped, tapping Skales on the shoulder and pointed straight down. "My love, look over there!"

Skales looked and gasped as well. "The ninja!"

"What?" Pythor looked and noticed them as well. "They're trying to stop us from uniting the Serpentine tribes. We must stop them."

"Don't worry. I'll take care of it." Skales rushed over to Skalidor, whispered in his ear, making him nod and slither off. He went back over to Pythor and Selma. "No need to fear. The Constrictai will handle this."

Since there was no way back up the manhole on the catwalk, the ninja had to go through the tunnels leading into the subway. But they only got so far. The Constrictai caught up to them underground, first snatching Nya, then Kitty. Carol and Pixal ran down the tunnel, but the nature ninja was faster than the animal sorcery ninja, so the Constrictai caught up with the latter.

Carol used her powers to turn into a lioness while shouting to Pixal, "I'll hold them off! Run!" Nodding, Pixal ran off. Carol faced the Serpentine. "Come and get me, you scaly freaks!" But the Constrictai were prepared. Using a stolen blow dart, one of them blew it straight at Carol's arm, causing her to turn back into her human form and go into a daze. "Sleepy time." She fell to the floor as the snakes quickly dragged her away while the rest of the group went after Pixal.

Pixal had turned the corner into another tunnel, realizing that she's come upon a dead end. Hearing the sound of footsteps, she acts quickly by hiding in front of a poster. She took one glimpse at the Constrictai coming and turned her head, closed her eyes and hoped to the Great Sensei they wouldn't see her. They came up, noticing the dead end. Seeing that she probably escaped through somewhere else in the tunnels, they turned back and went a different way.

Pixal waited a moment before stepping away, wondering why the snakes didn't see her. When she looked at the poster, she saw it to be a magenta colored advertisement to buy Code Magenta albums. She was impressed. The Serpentine didn't detect her because her gi camouflaged with the poster.

Pixal nodded. "I suppose magenta is not such a bad color after all. I must thank Lloyd for changing my gi color." She rushed off to go rescue her friends.

Back over in the sewer area on the catwalk, Pythor slithered over to Skales, who was standing by a door. "Did you take care of them?"

"All but one," Skales said, opening the door to reveal the captured ninja. Kitty and Nya were struggling to get out of their bounds. Carol was left unconscious from the dart hitting her earlier.

Pythor was growing angry. "Search every nook and cranny. If she's a ninja, you'll never find her in plain sight. I'm not going to let these so-called heroes get in our way."

"Look!" a warrior shouted, "A pink ninja!"

Swinging above the Serpentine was Pixal, coming in to save the day. The other ninja cheered her on. "Go, pink ninja, go!"

Pixal swung up to Pythor and the other Serpentine generals and kicked them all out of the way. She used her sais to undo her friends' bounds. "Let's get out of here!"

Kitty grabbed Carol and they jumped over the catwalk, walking among the snakes' heads. They began rushing through the tunnels, hearing the enemy following behind. Pixal used her powers to grow trees while Nya used her fans to create a flood of water.

"That should keep them away!" Nya said.

"Come on," Pixal said, "Let's leave this swamp."

Kitty laughed. "Now that's funny! Looks like your sense of humor's getting better, Pixal!"

The ninja escaped, but the Serpentine weren't so lucky to continue pursuing them. They were slipping and sliding all over the wet ground and even bumping into the trees because they couldn't get around.

Selma screamed. "This is terrible! They've escaped! We must go after them!"

"Don't!" Pythor said angrily, "We will let them come to us! They've won this time, but next time they won't be so lucky!"

"I apologize for the plan not working, Pythor," Skales said, placing a hand on his shoulder, "But you will have to do better than words to unite the tribes. We must show them the way."

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME!" Pythor shouted. Skales obeyed him immediately.

He was really ticked off. More than usual, it seems.

**NEXT SCENE:**

Morning arrived by the time the ninja returned home to the bounty. Nya's eyes were finally cleared up from the Venomari venom and Carol woke up not too long ago. Besides a splitting headache, she would be fine. They were eating breakfast and discussing last night's events, to which their teachers were proud.

"You know, whether it was in a lesson book or not, we used the destructive power of rumors to our advantage," Kitty said.

"And now the Serpentine are further away than ever from getting their act together," Nya said, "But this is only the beginning. We've only delayed the inevitable. The tribes will end up uniting, but we'll do everything in our power to stop them from freeing this Great Devourer creature."

"I believe a new lesson should be placed in the book, brother," Garmadon said, "It shall be called The Art of The Destructive Power of Rumors."

"Because we now understand that not all lessons are about fighting," Carol said, "But I don't think we would've gotten out of there if it hadn't been for Pixal. She's the real hero here."

Pixal, wearing her pajamas, smiled. "Don't thank me. Thank Lloyd. If it hadn't been for his 'laundry skills,' we all would've been found." Everyone laughed.

"That reminds me," Lloyd said. He walked out of the room for a moment and returned with a laundry basket in his hands. "Sorry about the laundry incident, Pixal. I spent all of yesterday afternoon to fix it, though. It took me twenty loads, but your clothes are no longer pink."

"The correct color was magenta, not pink. But thank you, Lloyd. I forgive you."

"Yeah, I think some apologies need to be said," Monica said, carrying a plastic shopping bag in her hand, "Sorry for replacing your lotion with slime, Nya. I bought you a new bottle with some of my allowance money."

"Thanks, Monica," Nya said.

"Oh, yes, before I forget," Zelda said, "My apologies for replacing the mud with honey and syrup, Kitty. I fixed it back to where the pile is now once again mud. I hope you can forgive me for placing you in such a sticky situation." She giggled.

"What's done is done," Kitty said, chuckling, "Let's just be glad I got all the stickiness out of me hair."

Kai brought over a carton of eggs to Carol. "Sorry for spicing up your omelettes. I thought maybe you could try making them again. And I promise to stay out of the kitchen this time. No hard feelings?"

Carol smiled, taking the eggs. "No, but I think you still owe someone else an apology."

"He certainly does," Maya said, gesturing over to Nya, "Go on."

Kai sighed, walking over to his sister. "Hey, uh... sorry for putting blue hair dye in your shampoo. It was a stupid way to get even. But I went and bought some black hair dye to turn your hair back to normal."

Nya smiled. "Thanks. And I'm sorry for replacing your hair gel with baby oil."

"And I'm sorry for reading your diary. You have a right to have personal secrets. Can you ever forgive me?"

Nya nodded. "Water under the bridge. As long as you forgive me."

"I put that fire out a while back. So we're cool?"

"Yes, we're cool." Nya embraced her brother, who didn't hesitate to hug her back. After a moment of forgiveness, she walked over to her mother. "Would you mind helping me turn my hair back to normal?"

"Actually, Kai already offered to do it," Ray said, "He messed it up, so he can fix it."

Kai groaned. "It's better than getting grounded."

Nya chuckled. "Well, I think this calls for a celebration to my greatest brother ever. Who wants cinnamon rolls?" She went over to the refrigerator, but wasn't expecting a bunch of rubber snakes to pop out at her. She fell to the floor and screamed. Once she got over her shock, she glared daggers at her brother. "Kai!"

"I swear, Nya, I didn't do it," Kai said, backing away before he got hurt.

Maya and Ray laughed. "Got you!"

Nya gasped. "What!?"

"Don't think you and Kai are the only ones who can prank one another," Maya said, "You father and I used to be a pair of pranksters in our day."

"And you two thought you were the only ones that rolled around in the mud," Ray said.

"Like parents, like children," Wu said.

Everyone laughed, enjoying the fun moments while they still had them.

Because every moment last forever...

* * *

**HEY, GUYS. SO WE'VE COME TO CHAPTER 10. LET ME TELL YOU THAT CAN OF WORMS IS MY MOST FAVORITE EPISODE FROM SEASON 1. ALSO, PLEASE DON'T SPOIL WHO THE SAMURAI AND GREEN NINJA IS IN THE REVIEWS. I'M PRETTY SURE YOU GUYS KNOW, BUT PLEASE NO SPOILERS. IF YOU ALREADY HAVE, PLEASE KNOW THAT I'M NOT MAD OR ANYTHING, BUT FOR FUTURE CHAPTERS, NO SPOILERS PLEASE.**

**SO DON'T FORGET TO TELL ME ANY DIFFERENCES YOU SPOT OR WHAT YOUR FAVORITE PART IS.**

**ALSO GUYS, THIS IS MY VALENTINE GIFT TO YOU ALL. **

**THANKING ALL THE READERS OUT THERE. NOW TIME TO THANK THE REVIWERS:**

**Queenstarblaster21, Ryry-24, The Mayor of Ninjago City, AND I am a Ninjago Fan. YOU GUYS ROCK!**

**HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY, EVERYONE!**

**HOPE THIS CHAPTER WAS GOOD.**

**PLEASE REVIEW.**


	11. S1 E11: Iron Sharpens Iron

S1 E11

IRON SHARPENS IRON

The sun blazed in scorching terror upon the Sea of Sands. But that didn't bother the Serpentine one bit.

After their failed attempt to unite the tribes a week ago, Pythor decides to try once again, but this time he plans to find a place lost to the Serpentine many years ago: the Lost City of Ouroboros.

Serpentine history states that Ouroboros, formerly known as the Forsaken City, was once a massive Serpentine city that was buried beneath the Sea of Sands after the Serpentine War. It is stated that the Great Devourer was imprisoned underneath the city and Pythor's plan is to find the hidden city to bring vengeance against all of Ninjago.

And at this very moment Pythor and Skales were digging in the sand to find the lost city. Selma was sitting in a lounge chair watching them as if they were children playing in the sandbox.

"Keep up the good work, boys," Selma said, "I'll be right here if you need me."

Pythor grunted, mumbling under his breath. "It's not like you've been helping us from the start." He looked at Skales. "How in the world did you end up marrying her?"

"Because out of all the females of the Hypnobrai, she was the one for me," Skales said, "Her beauty, her brains and her persuasion. Her personality and her love for our tribe. Who wouldn't want to be with her?"

"Keep her all you want. She's not really my cup of tea. Oh, if only there was a female serpent for me. A woman who will not mind me being taller, handsomer and pleased with whatever she desires."

"There are plenty of ladies in the tribes. I'm sure there's at least one from each tribe who is still single. You can have any of them for yourself."

Pythor sighed. "I believe I shall have a contest for which female I shall choose. Once we find what we're looking for, that is."

"Speaking of that certain matter, I believe that we're wasting our time, Pythor. There's nothing here but sand and dust." Skales brushes some dust away with his tail.

"Oh, don't be such a ninny," Pythor growled, "Keep digging. The Lost City of Ouroboros is under us. I know it."

Skales sighed. "You might as well face the facts. Your first attempt to unite the tribes failed, and now that you have lost your flock, you've become desperate."

"I am desperate, my disloyal number two, but only to bring our kind together so that we can unleash the Great Devourer so it can consume all of Ninjago so we can rule the land." He continued digging in the sand.

Skales rolled his eyes. "You put too much faith in legends. Besides, all the Serpentine know is to be at war with one another."

"Well, if you're not interested in helping me find the city then maybe you should go lounge around with that wife of yours. Besides, you're just as lazy as she is. And what does she do all day? Knit cozy sweaters?"

"Don't you talk about my wife that way, you idiot!" Skales shouted.

The two of them got into an all-out argument, concerning Selma for a moment. She looked at them and said, "Men these days. They fight about the stupidest of things." She then looks beside her on the ground and sees something shiny. "Hello, what's this?" It looked to be a dial shining bright in the blazing sun. When she turned it, the sand begins to move and everything begins rising up. "Oh, dear!" She rushes over to her husband. "Skales!"

Skales ceased his bickering with Pythor as the two of them realized what was going on with their surroundings. He looked at his wife, who was running up to him. "My love, what is going on?"

"I don't know." Selma held her husband tightly. "I turned some dial and then the sand started moving."

Pythor gasped. "Skales, your wife has found it." He watched as a city covered in sand and made with stone rose from the ground, revealing itself as the treasure he has been so desperate to find. "I present to you the city formerly known as the Lost City of Ouroboros."

Oh, things can't possibly get worse from here, can it?

**NEXT SCENE:**

Up in the air, the Destiny's Bounty was making its usual sail route around Ninjago, keeping a watch over the land and the people. Flying right behind them was the postman, who was riding on a bicycle with improvised wings, holding out a parcel.

"Wait!" the postman panted, "Slow down! I have a package for Garmadon!"

Garmadon came outside, hearing the call of the mailman. He took out his extremely long net, held it out for the postman to place the parcel and additional mail in and brought it back onto the ship. "Thank you! See you tomorrow!" He takes the mail inside.

The postman turned around and sighed. "I need a vacation."

Inside the dining room on the bounty, the ninja and allies were surrounding the table drinking their morning cup of tea while listening to Monica ramble on about a new idea she plans to write about in her novel-in-progress.

"So the Princess of Darkness has a group of Serpentine that pretty much do all her bidding," Monica explains, "But this tribe is called the Cobrai. They have the power to stare at their opponents and turn them into solid stone. But even with every power, everyone has a weakness or an antidote. The source of light can break solid stone and unless the person is staring at the smaller snakes upon the Cobrai's heads, the power is rendered useless. But get this: the Princess of Light is immune to their power. And because it doesn't affect her, she stands a fighting chance against them."

"But don't forget that you have to explain exactly how and why she's immune," Pixal said.

"Don't worry. I've got that all planned out."

"Just as long as they ain't like the Hypnobrai, who will hypnotize you and place you under their control," Kitty said.

"Or like the Constrictai who aren't afraid to put you in a squeeze that is absolutely nothing like a hug," Carol said.

"Or like the Venomari who aren't afraid to spit on you with their hallucinatory venom," Nya said, "Take my word for it. That was some really bad stuff."

"I have a question," Zelda said, "Are the Cobrai easily defeated with something when they become too difficult to handle?"

"Gee, I haven't thought about that," Monica said. She looked up to see her uncle walk into the room. "Uncle Garmie, what's the best way to stun a Serpentine, no matter their species?"

Garmadon sighed. "Sadly, it was the sacred flute that the ninja so carelessly lost."

Carol gasped. "That is not true. We did not lose the sacred flute. Pythor stole it from us."

Garmadon sat down at the head of the table. "Whatever the case, without it I fear we have nothing to combat their powers. We may have prevented them from uniting in the past, but they will try again, and one day they will be stronger. Strong enough to release the Great Devourer and take over Ninjago."

"No need to worry, my teacher," Nya said, "I've almost reached my full potential, and when I become the Yellow Ninja, we're not gonna need any magic flute."

Kitty groaned. "For the last time, Nya. You are not destined to be the Yellow Ninja."

"Our powers have already been chosen for us," Pixal said, "Are you not happy with wielding the element of water?"

"She thinks she's better than us," Carol said, "And she won't be happy until she is."

"I am not!" Nya yelled, "I just happen to be stronger than the rest of you!"

The four of them began arguing about the matter. Monica rolled her eyes, staring at the parcel in her uncle's hands. "What's in the box?"

"Well, if the girls will stop arguing, I will be happy to give them their new uniforms," Garmadon said, opening the box to show them their new ninja outfits.

The ninja gasped in awe as they each took out their respective uniform. They were all the same look, just with each ninja's signature color. Each were actually in the style of a kimono with ninja mask that covered the lower half of their faces. Each was tied with a sash and also covered with armor made of iron. And each was decorated with the element that was assigned to their owners.

"Oh, my gosh!" Carol exclaimed, "These are so pretty! And look at the glitter magic! It's so cute!"

"I love the iron armor on the shoulders and wrist," Nya said, "These even match a girl's personality color."

"The material is really light and breathable," Pixal said, "And the lower mask will be a better support for us. Now we won't have to tuck in our hair."

"I can't wear this!" Kitty yelled, "This is a kimono dress! I don't wear dresses!"

"Kitty, a kimono is a traditional gown worn by women," Monica said, "I wear them all the time. They're not that bad."

"Then how come Misako ain't forced to wear one?" Kitty asked.

"Misako is an archaeologist and a historian," Garmadon said, "She has an excuse. You don't."

Monica sighed. "Did I get my package? I'm supposed to get something from the Junior Girls Book of The Month Club."

Garmadon shook his head. "I'm afraid not, but you can have the box the uniforms were in."

The alarms went off through the bounty. The ninja wasted no time to rush into the main control room and search the main computer, locating where the trouble is brewing.

After typing in a few keys, Nya found where the source of trouble was. "Sorry to break up the moment, girls, but a small faction of our slithering friends are stirring up trouble at Mega Monster Amusement Park. Probably there to put some scares in the hearts of the citizens."

"Mega Monster Amusement Park," Zelda said, "My grandfather used to take my brother, sister and I there when we were children. Oh, such happy memories. Until my sister left to join the dark side."

"The amusement park!" Monica exclaimed, "Now this is a battle I can't miss! Can I go? Can I go? Can I go? Please let me go!" She was literally on her knees begging.

Garmadon sighed. "As much as I want to say yes, I'm afraid I can't let you. Your father would have my head if he found out I let you go off and fight. You will remain here on the bounty where it's safe."

Monica threw her hands up in the air in frustration. "Ugh! Fine! The ninja get to have all the fun." She crossed her arms and pouted.

"What do you say, girls?" Carol said, "Ready to try out the latest fashion in kimono ninja uniforms?"

"You know it!" Nya cheered.

The girls rushed into their shared bedroom and quickly came out wearing their new outfits. Out of all the ninja, Kitty was the only one who hated the new pretty uniforms. She was also worried about her hair getting caught in something or something getting caught in her hair. Either way, she hated the gi altogether.

The others were digging their new style.

"This new stuff feels like it'll really protect us," Carol said, "And make us look beautiful."

"And it will provide more mobility," Pixal said. She looked over at Kitty. "I would advise that you pull up your hair. It will be more beneficial to keep it up at least in battle."

"Not gonna happen," Kitty growled, "I haven't had to pull it up before and I don't plan to now. And I hate wearing this thing. I feel weird in it."

"You are such a drama queen," Carol said.

"I am not!" Kitty snapped.

"Okay, are we gonna keep arguing about who looks better on the catwalk or are we gonna get down to that amusement park so we can fight the snakes and go on some rides? I can hardly wait to get on a roller coaster." She whistled loudly and quick as a cat came the dragons.

And they were loving their owners new clothes as well.

"Oh, I'm loving the new look," Crystal said.

"Where to, ladies?" Blossom asked.

"Mega Monster Amusement Park," Nya said.

The dragons flew them into the city, going into the direction of the funnest place in Ninjago. A family friendly theme park filled with games and rides. Plenty of things to do for an entire day.

And now this family friendly place needed the ninja to help them.

When the ninja finally arrived, they jumped off of their dragons and landed on their feet in the middle of the park, posing to show off their new outfits. They loved this day so far.

"Look at that," Carol said, "Not a scratch on me. We look magical."

"I look ridiculous," Kitty said in disgust.

They saw a group of people crowded around in a circle, cheering and jumping up and down. The girls strutted over to them as if they were walking the catwalk in a fashion show.

"Relax, everyone," Nya said, "We're here to save the day." But she and the others were confused to see the Serpentine were already tied up with rope, struggling to get out of their bounds. Nya went up to a couple of girls. "Uh, what happened here?"

"Oh, you totally missed it," the girl with straight brown hair said, "There were like, icky snakes, and then this mysterious samurai and a ninja in green came in and saved everyone."

"They were, like, so handsome," the girl with blond curly hair said.

"So they're boys?" Kitty asked.

"No, but we could totally tell that they were," the girl with the straight brown hair said. She and her friend walked away.

Then they noticed Kai and Lloyd walking up to the four of them, both holding plates in their hands. Nya noticed them coming up. "Kai, Lloyd, you guys are here?"

Kitty gasped, hiding behind Carol. "Don't tell Kai where I'm at. Got it?"

"Okay," Carol said.

Kai nodded. "What's up? Would any of you ladies care for some funnel cake?"

"Boy, you all missed one awesome battle," Lloyd said, "The samurai and green ninja just came up out of nowhere, took care of the snakes and just rushed off." He handed two of the plates of funnel cakes to Nya, keeping one of them. "This one's for Zelda."

Kai handed the plates he held to Pixal. "We better start heading back. Hey, where did Kitty go?"

"You guys should really go back to the bounty," Carol said, "You don't want Zelda's funnel cake to get cold. Now shoo!"

The two of them left down in the direction of the exit. Kitty stepped out of her hiding place and sighed in relief. "That was a close one. Thanks, Carol."

"Anything for a friend," Carol said, placing her fork in the funnel cake and eating it.

"It was the coolest battle ever, Mommy!" a little girl in the crowd said, "The ninja was so powerful and the samurai was so amazing! I don't know which to choose. Should I be a samurai or a ninja?"

"The samurai is my new hero," said a woman in the crowd.

"I absolutely love that green ninja," said another woman, "He's so amazing."

"The samurai and the green ninja are so cool," said a man, "They're better than those four ninja girls."

"Who are these guys?" Carol asked.

I don't know, but whoever they are, they're stealing our thunder," Nya said, "And we just got these brand new beautiful ninja kimono suits."

"I'm just gonna say it," Kitty said, "I hate the green ninja and the samurai."

"Do I hear a hint of jealousy?" Coming up behind the girls was Sensei Wu, along with Misako and Garmadon.

"My teachers," Pixal said.

Wu had one hand behind his back and another hand held up some cotton candy. "You all appear to be jealous of these mysterious heroes. Maybe this can be a lesson for you."

Nya rolled her eyes. "Great. Another lesson."

"Hey, how did you three get here so quickly?" Carol asked.

"Girls, please," Misako said, "Pay attention. These lesson will be important to you in the future."

Wu smiled. "The lesson is iron sharpens iron."

"That's always something my father would say," Nya said, "But what exactly does it mean?"

"Healthy competition can help you reach your True Potential faster," Wu explained, "Do not be jealous of this samurai and green ninja, let it inspire you." He paused a moment before his face lit up in excitement. "Oh, ferris wheel!" He ran off through the crowd towards the attraction.

"Should we follow him?" Misako asked her husband.

"Oh, he'll be fine," Garmadon said, "He's a grown man. He can take care of himself." Then he sighed. "But I think we should just for precautions. My big brother senses get the best of me." The two of them walked away, heading towards the ferris wheel, leaving the ninja alone to discuss what Wu just told them.

"What does he mean by us being inspired?" Carol asked.

"Most of the time I think he talks about nothing but a bunch of mumbo jumbo," Kitty said.

"Wait a minute," Nya said, "Maybe the old man's on to something."

"You want us to compete with the samurai and the green ninja?" Kitty asked.

"But they have all these cool gadgets and amazing powers," Carol said, "We don't stand a chance. They'll beat us down to a pulp."

"No, we're not gonna compete with them," Nya said, "Here me out, girls. We should turn this into our own competition. Whichever of us is skilled enough to catch this mysterious samurai and green ninja is probably the best of the bunch. So whoever learns of their identities is the one who will become the destined Yellow Ninja. Who's in?"

"I'm in," Kitty said, "But just as a reminder, Nya. None of us are destined to become the Yellow Ninja."

Nya shrugged. "Yeah, whatever."

"How about we change it over?" Carol suggested, "Whoever discovers the mysterious identities of these masked heroes will be allowed to force the other ninja in the group to do her bidding for a solid month. How does that sound?"

"Like I said, I'm in," Kitty said.

"Me, too," Pixal said.

Nya sighed. "Fine. I'm in."

"Then it's a bet," Kitty said, "May the best ninja win."

"Ninja Go!" they chanted together.

The bet is on. Who will win?

**NEXT SCENE**:

The next day, the alarm in the bounty blares, with Kai at the controls, checking the map to see that the Serpentine were practically everywhere on the radar.

"Multiple snake sightings all across Ninjago!" Kai shouted, "They're everywhere!"

The ninja were on board.

Splitting up, Pixal decides to take the Ninjago National Park, where the snakes were scaring off park rangers and visitors. She rushes in and prepares her sais, but before she even begins to go into battle, the Samurai arrives. He flies up with his jet pack and pulls out a giant net, scooping up the snakes and flying off just as quick as he came.

Pixal grew angry. "Metal menace!" She picks up a pine cone and throws it, but she misses.

Masked heroes: One

Ninja: Zero

**NEXT SCENE:**

At the Ninjago City Zoo, Carol encounters some Fangpyre trying to bite some scared monkeys. No way would she let some slither heads sink their teeth on innocent animals.

"Stay away from them!" Carol shouted, raising up her bo staff, "Ninja Go!" She uses her powers to turn into an elephant.

In the background, a group of kids were cheering Carol on. "Go, Ninja, Go!"

But before Carol could stomp them in the ground, a blast of energy the colors of green and gold blasted them out of the monkey exhibit and made them land in the lions' habitat, making them run home to their mommies.

Carol gasped when she saw the green ninja. "Hey! This was my battle!"

"Hooray for the green ninja!" the kids cheered.

Carol growled and would've grabbed the green ninja with her trunk if he hadn't of thrown a dart at her front left foot, causing her to turn back into her human form and growing dizzy. "Why me?" She fell to the ground and passed out.

Masked heroes: Two

Ninja: Zero

**NEXT SCENE:**

In the Ninjago Islands, Nya watched as the samurai was fighting off some snakes, giving her an advantage to figure out who he is.

Chuckling, Nya used the water from the ocean to create a giant tidal wave, but the samurai had already flown up high in the air using his jet pack. Instead of the wave hitting him, it hit the snakes he was fighting, causing them to get washed away.

Nya screamed. "That's it! I'm fed up with you!" She ran up to attack the samurai, but he caught her in his net like a fish. She groaned. "This is so embarrassing."

Masked heroes: Three

Ninja: Zero

**NEXT SCENE:**

Kitty, wearing casual clothes, looks along the train tracks in the Sea of Sands before lying down as a train is approaching.

"Let's hope this damsel in distress thing works." Kitty cleared her throat and shouted out, "Help! Samurai, green ninja, where are you? I'm in terrible danger!"

The samurai and green ninja soon appeared. The green ninja held out a spare train track while the samurai lifted the track Kitty was on off the tracks and safely placed her on the side. The green ninja used the spare track to replace the one Kitty sat on, letting the train go safely by.

Both mysterious heroes left as soon as they came. And Kitty was red in the face with anger.

"DARN YOU SAMURAI AND GREEN NINJA!"

Masked heroes: Four

Ninja: Absolutely nothing.

**NEXT SCENE:**

The next day came faster than the ninja expected, but they all planned to continue the bet to see which one of them would discover who the samurai and green ninja were.

Carol, Kitty and Pixal got a head start, but Nya was running behind because she promised to fly Zelda over to the Ninjago City Public Library. And Zelda did not enjoy her first dragon riding experience. All because Nya was going at super top speed. But they made it in one piece.

Zelda took several calm breaths to ease her rapidly beating heart. "Goodness! Not at all what I thought this experience would be."

"Sorry," Nya said, "But I'm sort of in a rush. I have a feeling the samurai and the green ninja may show up any minute now."

Zelda jumped off Water Lily. "Well, at least you brought me here in one piece. While you're out searching for these mysterious heroes, I'll be here in the library searching for knowledge." She chuckled at her own pun.

Nya giggled. "Good one. Kitty will come by later to pick you up. See you later." And off she flew.

Zelda rolled her eyes. "Heroes these days." She went inside the library, a huge three floored place filled to the brim with computers and books. She walked over to the front desk, where the librarian was busy typing up on her computer. When the middle-aged woman took noticed, Zelda smiled. "May I have all available sources under the research category of Serpentine?"

"Certainly," the librarian said, opening up her filing cabinet and taking out a folder that was labeled "Serpentine Information." She handed it to Zelda. "Here you are. Make sure you return it before you leave."

"Thank you." Zelda walked over to her first destination.

The Internet. The best source known for research. Her main objective was to figure out some more information about the Serpentine tribes. She had questions of her own written in her notebook. Call her a nerd, but she's big into Ninjago's history.

What she wanted to know came into these questions: How many Serpentine tribes exist? What is the Great Devourer and where is it hiding? Why are Serpentine and humans enemies? What were the main issues of the Serpentine War?

She also planned to do more research on the tribes when she heard the shuffling of feet go by behind her. The main sound that came to her ears was hissing noises. That's when she looked to see a pair of snakes disguised as humans walking by and were heading towards the restroom.

Zelda knew this may be her only chance to learn the true secrets of the Serpentine. She decided to follow them by first checking to see exactly where they were heading off to. She watched as they went inside the ladies restroom and silently went after them, watching as one of them climbed out the window. Climbing up a step stool, she saw what looked to be a bus in between the library and the Internet Cafe.

Rushing out of the restroom, she gathered up everything in her backpack, returned the folder of sources to the librarian and headed outside. She looked over the corner of the building to see a line of Serpentine gathered around a bus, waiting to board. She overheard Skales conversing with a Fangpyre warrior.

"I hear he found it," Skales said, "And everyone is gathering again."

The Fangpyre warrior shook his head. "Impossible. The Lost City does not exist."

"Well, it isn't lost anymore. And I heard there's gonna be a fight. And I hear he has something else in store."

The warrior smiled. "A fight? Surprises? Count me in!"

"The Lost City?" Zelda asked herself, "I have never heard of such a place."

But typical Zelda. She was bound to find out.

And she was prepared. If she were to ever spy on the Serpentine, she needed to go incognito. She took out a Serpentine hood and red glasses to disguise herself as a Hypnobrai. Fixing herself up, she walked over to the bus.

"All aboard!" Skales called out, "Next stop, Ouroboros!" Zelda climbed up the bus, doing her best to play it cool. Skales looked at her and said, "Hey, you, hold it there."

Zelda gasped. "Yessss?" _Keep playing it cool._

Skales frown turned into a smile. "Last one in closes the door."

"Oh, yessss, of coursssse." She turned around and closed the bus doors.

Taking a seat in the back, she got comfortable and decided to enjoy the ride. The ninja would probably worry, but she had to do this. Whatever this Lost City of Ouroboros was, the Serpentine had something to do with it.

They rode all day through the desert and arrived to Ouroboros that night. Zelda sat with hundreds of Serpentines from every tribe as they chattered to one another. Her plan was to play it cool and leave when the opportunity came. But for now, she would watch this fight and surprise Pythor had ready.

Down on the battlefield, Pythor leaned over to whisper in Skales' ear. "Just do as I've said, and I promise you will be my second-in-command. Forever." He cleared his throat. "Good evening, ladies and snakes! I bring you together to the Lost City of Ouroboros, before the statue of our very own Great Devourer, to speak of unity."

"Where are the fights?" a warrior asked.

"Where is the big show?" asked another.

"Calm yourselves!" Pythor called out, "The big show is about to start. You men out there love to see a lady's beauty. Well, I bring you four single female serpents from each tribe. From the Venomari tribe, the sassy serpent, Velli. The Constrictai tribe, strong and bold Brita. The Fangpyre tribe, double the fun and beauty, Fangra. And from the Hypnobrai tribe, the great and incredible Scalina."

The Serpentine males cheered and gave flirty whistles and even brought out flowers to offer. The females in the crowd were jealous that Pythor chose them instead of ladies that were way better. Zelda rolled her eyes. "I ssssuposssse all creaturessss are the ssssame."

Pythor chuckled. "Now for all the single males out there, let me tell you that only one of these girls is ripe for the taking. For me, of course. I have taken the time to get to know all four of these beautiful women, and after much thought and consideration, I have made my decision."

"I knew it!" Velli exclaimed, "It's me!"

"It can't be you!" Brita shouted, "I'm the one he enjoyed being with the most!"

"You both-are wrong," Fangra said, "I am-his favorite."

The three of them began piling on top of one another, fighting and screaming. Everyone in the crowd began shouting in glee and laughing. Even Zelda couldn't help but giggle.

Pythor smiled and said, "My choice is... Scalina!"

The three women gasped. "What?!"

Scalina stepped up just a step, pointing to herself. "M-Me?"

Pythor nodded. "Yes, Scalina. You are my choice. Such kindness, such loyalty, and such an exquisite family history you have. It must not be easy to be half Anacondrai." The crowd gasped. Pythor shushed them. "Do not make her feel terrible. I say it's a great and remarkable gift. Nobody will ever love her the way I do. And so I ask you, Scalina, for your hand in marriage. Will you accept?"

Scalina hesitated, but after giving it some thought, she nodded. "I accept."

"Wonderful! One week from today, we shall be married. And you shall be my queen."

"Queen?" Scalina asked.

"Why, yes. The crowd is asking for a fight and I plan on giving them one. I will go against the four tribe generals for their staffs and their allegiance. At once! And if I win, I will become the king!"

"I fought hard for this staff and will not give it up easily," Acidicus said.

"There's no way he can defeat the four of us at once," Skalidor told them.

Secretly, Pythor and Skales stuffed cotton balls in their ears. Skales secretly hands him the sacred flute and, without warning, he begins playing its music.

Zelda gasped, covering her own ears to play along. "He issss ussssing the ssssacred flute againsssst hissss own."

The generals screamed out in agony, hating the music that played through their ears. Skales threw down his staff, leading the other generals to do the same. There was no going against the sacred flute and they immediately admitted defeat.

Pythor chuckled evilly and shouted, "Bow to your master! Bow to your master, Serpentine!"

The Sepentine stood up and bowed to Pythor, the new ruler of all the tribes. Zelda did the same, but decided to try and sneak away. Which was a bad idea because she ended up butting heads with the serpent next to her, causing her disguise to fall off her head and eyes.

She tried running off, but the female snake she bumped into grabbed her by the arm. "Alright, girl. Who are you and why are you here?"

Scalina gasped. "Pythor, look! A human is among the crowd!"

Pythor looked up, noticing that human girl anywhere. "Zelda!"

Zelda gulped, fear taking her over.

Things were about to get serious...

* * *

**OKAY, GUYS. HERE IT IS. THE NEXT CHAPTER OF THIS INCREDIBLE STORY.**

**SO GUYS, DON'T FORGET TO SPOT THE DIFFERENCE AND TELL ME WHAT YOUR FAVORITE PART WAS IN THE REVIEWS. **

**ALSO, I WANNA SAY THANK YOU TO ALL THE READERS OUT THERE. AND TO ALL THE AMAZING REVIEWERS. I USUALLY LIST DOWN WHO THEY ARE, BUT I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO DO SO RIGHT NOW. BUT EVERYONE KNOWS WHO YOU GUYS ARE.**

**ALSO, I HAVE BEEN GETTING REVIEWS FROM YOU GUYS ABOUT THE NINJA AND THEIR WEAPONS ONLY TURNING INTO ONE VEHICLE WHEN THEY'RE TOGETHER. PLEASE REMEMBER THAT THEY STILL HAVE THEIR DRAGONS SO THEY PRETTY MUCH GO EVERYWHERE WITH THEM. JUST WANTED TO EXPLAIN TO YOU GUYS WHY I DID WHAT I DID WITH THE WHOLE WEAPON VEHICLE THING.**

**I ALSO HOPE THAT YOU GUYS LOVE THE ARMORED KIMONO NINJA SUITS I CREATED FOR THE NINJA. I KNOW KITTY HATES IT, BUT I'M SURE SHE'LL COME AROUND.**

**OKAY, GUYS. I HOPE THIS CHAPTER WAS GREAT. ALSO, I HAVE A VERY IMPORTANT POLL ON MY PROFILE AND I'M TALLYING UP THE VOTES BY THE END OF MARCH.**

**I HOPE YOU GUYS HAD A HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY LAST WEEK. I SURE DID. AND I WILL TRY TO POST A NEW CHAPTER AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK. HOPEFULLY ON EITHER THURSDAYS AND FRIDAYS. DEPENDING ON HOW MY SCHEDULE GOES.**

**WOW, I'M TALKING TOO MUCH. I BETTER GET GOING.**

**HOPE YOU LOVED THIS CHAPTER.**

**PLEASE REVIEW.**


	12. S1 E12: Secrets Revealed

S1 E12

SECRETS REVEALED

The next day at breakfast, the ninja, Kai, Lloyd and Monica were discussing their attempts to figure out who the samurai and green ninja were. So far, none of them have come close and were on the verge of giving up, even though none of them wanted to.

Silence filled the dining room for a few moments and the only sounds were coming from outside. Since the bounty has landed back on the mountain, they could hear Jay repairing the roof. And boy was that saw louder than anything.

Monica sighed, walked over to the window, closed it and turned around to look at the ninja. "Mind telling me why you're all sulking?"

"Because none of us have found out who the samurai and green ninja are," Carol said, "It's getting ridiculous. Trying to find out their identities is more of a nuisance than the snakes. Any of you girls having any luck?"

"I'll admit, these guys are elusive," Kitty said, "They're like a ghost. They're there one moment and then gone the next moment. They're way faster than we are."

"I do not want to put us down any worse, but I'm starting to believe we might never catch them," Pixal said.

"Well, I think it's safe to say, none of us are closer to proving we're the Yellow Ninja," Nya said, "This blows. So much for the bet."

Kitty groaned. "For the last time, Nya, none of us are destined to become the Yellow Ninja! Has your hearing gone bad or something?"

Nya shook her head. "My hearing's fine. I just refuse to believe that some normal girl who has no skills in the way of the ninja is going to be the greatest female ninja of them all. Sorry, I just think the Yellow Ninja has to be one of us."

Kitty looked at Kai. "Can you get anything through your sister's stubborn head?"

"Nope," Kai said, "Once something big comes up, she thinks she's one for the title."

"Well, there's your proof," Carol said, "Nya's stubborn."

"I am not!" Nya shouted.

"Girls, don't be so loud," Misako said, coming inside the dining room, "Garmadon and Wu are trying to meditate."

Nya chuckled nervously. "Sorry, my teacher. We were just having a discussion."

Misako nodded. "I can see that Wu's lesson is coming through to you all. Iron is sharpening iron. I feel you are getting closer to your true potential." She lightly tapped Carol's arm.

But even a soft tap hurt because of the heavy shoulder armor, causing Carol to react to even the slightest touch. "Ouch. Sorry, it pinches a little."

Misako chuckled. "My apologies. Have any of you seen Zelda? We were supposed to be researching the Serpentine today and adding any searches we find to some scrolls."

"The last I saw of her was yesterday when I dropped her off at the library," Nya said, "I told her Kitty was gonna pick her up. Did you go over there, Kitty?"

Kitty nodded. "I flew by on Wild Cherry, but she wasn't waiting for me. I just figured she decided to take the subway home. Have the rest of you seen her?"

"No, she never came back," Carol said, "Do you think she ran off again to go search for her grandmother and sister?"

"I sure hope not," Lloyd said, a look of concern on his face.

"I'm afraid to say that we have not seen her," Pixal said.

"I'm worried," Misako said, "She told me she would go down to the library to do some research on the Serpentine. Where else would she go that would require her to be out all night?"

"I don't know, but we need to find her," Lloyd said.

"Let's check the map," Kai told Lloyd, "We might be able to locate her through there." The two went to the main control room.

"We'll head over to Ninjago City and look around where she was last seen," Kitty said.

Nya noticed something about Kitty. And it had something to do with her attire. "Kitty, why are you wearing your old ninja gi?"

Kitty groaned. "Do I have to wear that stupid kimono?"

"Yes," the other three said.

Kitty rolled her eyes. "Fine. I'll meet you outside."

Once Kitty finally got dressed and took about twenty minutes to even walk off the Bounty, the girls decided to use their weapons to transform them into the flying vehicle that they flew in back when they were defeating the Fangpyre and helping Kitty's family. They figured it was better and more convenient since the dragons were tired out from yesterday's search for the masked heroes.

They soared through the skies and finally made it to the city, landing in front of the Ninjago City Public Library. They looked around the outside of the building before going inside.

The librarian noticed them and gave a friendly smile. "Good morning. Can I help you young ladies with anything today?"

"Yeah," Kitty said, walking up to the desk, "You remember seeing a girl in here yesterday with blonde hair and wearing glasses? Wearing a bunch of yellow clothes?"

The librarian chuckled. "Sweetheart, I see a lot of people going in and out of here. I probably don't remember."

"May I ask if she was looking for information about the Serpentine?" Pixal asked.

The librarian gave herself a moment to think before nodding. "Now that you mentioned it, yes. The same girl you just described. It's coming back to me now."

"Her name is Zelda and she's a friend of ours," Nya said, "Do you have any security cameras outside the building? We just need to see where she went. She never came home last night."

"Oh, dear," the librarian said, "Yes, as a matter of fact, we do have some cameras located outside. I'll take you down to the security room." She led them through the library past the children's section and took them to a door labeled 'Security.' She smiled. "Here we are. The security guards up on the second floor right now, but seeing as you are the ninja, I'm sure he won't mind you looking through the security footage. Take all the time you need." She walked back down the path towards her desk.

The girls went inside the security room and started looking through the footage. They looked at the footage from in front of the front doors of the library and hit rewind, sending it far back to yesterday. It kept going until they finally spotted Zelda, standing beside the corner of the building.

"There she is," Kitty said, "What is she up to?"

Nya hit play. They watched as Zelda removed a Serpentine disguise out of her backpack and ran around the corner into the alley.

"Why would she wanna dress up like a slithering snake?" Carol asked.

"That's what we're about to find out," Kitty said, "Let's find the footage that points in the alley."

Nya moved on to a different security monitor and hit rewind, letting it go all the way back to yesterday and then stopped it when they spotted the Serpentine piling up on a bus. They let it play and watched carefully as they saw Zelda run up in her disguise and climb aboard the bus.

The ninja gasped. Of all the crazy things Zelda could possibly do, she goes off with the Serpentine. Seriously, what is up with that girl?

"Why the heck would she run off with the Serpentine?" Kitty asked.

"Something tells me we're going for a ride," Nya said, fixing up the footage and hopping up from the swivel chair, "Come on, girls."

The ninja went back outside, turned their weapons back into the Silver Jet, which is the name they've decided to give it, and flew out of the city into the Sea of Sands. There they found something that was never on any modern map of Ninjago. The Lost City of Ouroboros, but they all figured it was a place where a bunch of snakes were gathered at. Which was true since all of them were sitting in the stands.

"Whoa," Kitty said, "What is that place?"

"If I had to guess, I think it's some sort of mysterious sand city that just appeared from underground and the Serpentine have decided to take it for themselves," Carol said. The others looked at her. She shrugged. "Like I said. It was just a guess."

Nya shook her head. "Let's fly in and get a closer look."

Once they flew in a little closer, Pixal was able to get a better view and was worried when she saw all the tribes together in one place. "It appears Pythor has successfully united all of the tribes. We are too late to break them apart."

"I know we ruined their last get-together, but that's no reason to not get an invitation," Carol said, "My feelings are hurt." Then she murmured to herself. "Then again, I've never been invited to anything in my life."

"Did you say something, Carol?" Pixal asked.

"No. I said nothing. Just forget I said anything even though I didn't say anything."

Nya gasped. "Look! I see Zelda down there!" She pointed down to where Zelda was trapped in a cage made of venge stone.

"Let's get down there," Kitty said.

They transformed the Silver Jet back into the silver weapons and made their way inside the snake city. They stood in the shadows of a doorway, taking in the scenery of the arena.

"Look at this place," Carol said, "I bet it has a lot of history to it."

"I can take note that they worship the Great Devourer because of all the statues and art," Pixal said.

"All the more reason to get Zelda out of here," Nya said, "Then we need to start planning. We need to stop these slither heads once and for all. It's time to send them all back underground where they belong."

They began to sneak around the corner, but they ended up in a net trap. This caused them to drop their weapons on the ground.

Zelda gasped. "The ninja!"

The four generals of each surviving tribe went up to pick up the weapons while Pythor slithered up in front of them, smiling maliciously. "Looks like we've caught the main event."

Forced by serpent warriors, the ninja were placed in the arena where hundreds of snakes were watching them.

"Oh, this is so bad," Carol said, "I don't wanna be the main event. What did he mean by that, anyway?"

"I have a feeling we're the main event," Nya said.

"Or the main course," Kitty said.

Carol gasped. "I don't wanna be eaten by snakes! I still have too much to live for!"

"I sense that this may be the end for us instead of the Serpentine," Pixal said.

"Way to state the obvious, Pixal," Nya said, rolling her eyes.

Carol took calm deep breaths. "It's okay. Let's look on the bright side. We shouldn't have to worry. The samurai and green ninja could still come around to save us. I have faith that they will."

Pythor stood in the middle of the arena. "You say you wanted a battle, and I give you one. I give you Ninja versus samurai and the green ninja!"

A giant pair of doors opened and coming through them were the samurai and green ninja, both in chains. The Serpentine unbounded them, having them come out of the battlefield.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Carol shouted, "We have to fight the samurai and the green ninja? But we don't even have our silver weapons and they have armor with advanced technology and weird super powers. It's not fair!"

Pythor laughs evilly. "I want to see once and for all who is the greatest hero. Is it the masked heroes or the ninja? Only the victor will be allowed to leave."

As the masked heroes began to walk slowly up to the ninja, they were gathering up their courage and prepared to go up in hand-to-hand combat.

"Stay together, girls," Nya said, "We never know if the Serpentine have brainwashed them."

"I can only hope not," Pixal said, "Perhaps they can join our team to fight our way out considering they both hate the Serpentine as well."

As soon as she said that, the samurai threw daggers at the ninja while the green ninja shot out green-and-gold energy beams. Luckily, they dodged them all, but they could tell the masked heroes were definitely fighting against them.

"I was mistaken," Pixal said, "They are not on our team."

"Ain't that the truth," Kitty said, running up to fight the green ninja, who knocked her over easy with his powers.

The samurai threw a throwing disc at Carol, but she ducked in time before it could get her. She laughed. "Ha, ha! You missed me!" But the disc acted like a boomerang and ended up coming back to knock Carol in the back of the head. "Ow! That hurt!"

The others went to make sure she was alright. The crowd was cheering and laughing all at once. Even Scalina couldn't help but giggle, which made Pythor smile gleefully seeing his bride-to-be happy.

The ninja were getting fed up with getting their butts kicked.

"What can we do to stop them?" Nya asked.

"Perhaps we should try the Tornado of Life?" Pixal suggested.

They all nodded and got into position, each calling out their respective element:

"Animal Sorcery!"

"The Wild!"

"Water!"

"Nature!"

"Ninja Go!" the ninja shouted together.

The Tornado of Life sucked in everything, using the objects to create a giant slingshot, and as they shot themselves out of it, the samurai spread a pair of mechanical wings and used the flapping motion to push the giant twister back. The green ninja shot out a blast of energy and made the ninja lose their focus. The Tornado of Life disintegrated and the girls were sprawled out all over the place.

The crowd was cheering. Pythor was pleased. "This is getting exciting! Now let's bring in something very... pointy." He chuckled as he pulls a lever to activate spikes to pop up from the ground."

"This is getting ridiculous!" Nya yelled.

"You want more?" Pythor said, "I'll give you more." He uses the lever again to tilt the arena, making the ninja grab onto each other as Carol held on to the only pole on the battlefield.

"Why can't anyone play fair?" Carol asked.

"The Serpentine don't make anything easy," Kitty said, looking down at how long a fall it will be if they ended up getting dropped out of the arena, "Can this get any worse?"

"We must continue to make it appear that we are fighting for real," the samurai told them in his mechanical sounding voice.

"So we're not fighting for real?" Nya asked, "You guys were only pretending? What for?"

"To help you rescue the girl. Now it's time for the plan to be placed into action. Keep up the charade and hold on to my wings." He gives the girls time to climb onto him while he looked at the green ninja. "Use your powers to hold back the snakes and save the girl." The green ninja nodded and rushed off.

The samurai turned on his jet pack and tried flying away, but with four ninja on him, he couldn't even raise up.

"There's too much weight!" Kitty shouted.

"Don't look at me!" Carol yelled, "I am not that heavy so don't you even try to say I'm fat!"

The samurai came prepared, as usual. He placed the wings on autopilot as they unattached themselves from his back and helped the ninja fly away.

"Did the samurai just save us?" Nya asked.

"He did!" Carol shouted.

"And he and that green ninja stole our thunder again!" Kitty yelled in anger, "I hate those masked heroes!"

"Go, ninja!" Zelda shouted. She then noticed her cage being opened and spotted the green ninja. "Have you come to rescue me?" He nodded and motioned for her to climb on his back. Taking out a grappling hook, he shot it up onto a sandy pole and got them out of the city, disappearing as if they weren't there.

Pythor grew angry that the heroes escaped and actually succeeded in getting Zelda back. He spotted the samurai going after the silver weapons. "Get him!"

But it was too late. The samurai beat the warriors to them. "Magnetizer activated." Using his small magnet, the strong magnetic force brings the weapons to him. He flies off, hearing Pythor growling in anger.

Meanwhile, the ninja were still flying off on the mechanical wings, wondering how in the world they were gonna get back down.

"How do you turn this thing off?" Nya asked.

"Too late to figure that out!" Kitty shouted, "Brace for impact!"

The wings dive down towards the ground and crashes, sending the ninja sprawling all over the place. Dust covered the entire area. Once it cleared out, the ninja could be seen plainly. Carol landed up on a hill while Kitty and Pixal were below. Only one ninja remained missing.

"Where's Nya?" Carol asked, coughing as dust clogged up her system.

Over on the other side of the hills of sand dunes, Nya was scrambling to get her head out of the sand. Once she got herself free, she looked around for the others. "Girls? Where are you?" Then she noticed something falling from the sky. Or rather someone clad in red. Knowing who it was, she gasped. "The samurai!" She rushes over to the masked hero just as he crashes to the ground.

After the samurai crashed landed, he got up to assess the damage. Nya came up just as the samurai took off his helmet, revealing spiky brown hair. And she knew only one person with that hair style.

"Kai?"

Kai turned around, a black scarf covering the bottom half of his face. To try and trick her, he put the helmet back on, forcing her away and speaking in a mechanical voice. "Stay away, ninja. Don't look..." Knowing he couldn't keep it secret any longer, Kai finally took off the helmet and scarf and sighed. "... at me."

"Kai, I don't understand," Nya said, "How are you the samurai? And why are you the samurai?"

"Well, it originally starts with how being a hero used to be a guys only thing," Kai said, "But now we live in a world where there's so many clubs out there that only focus on girls being heroes. No longer damsels in distress and stuff like that. Seeing a guy being the hero is becoming slim, so I found a way to be a hero. A hero who keeps himself a secret and protect the ones he cares so much for even though they have no idea who that hero is. Your not mad, are you?"

"I'm furious! You should've told me and the others!"

Kai sighed. "You're that angry?"

Nya chuckled. "Not that kind of furious. I meant that you should have told me and the others you were the samurai. That way you could help us on our missions."

"Really?"

Nya nodded. "Yes. It's funny, though. Basically it's the other way around. I've been trying to protect you when I forgot that you can protect the rest of us in return. That shows me you can clearly take care of yourself."

"Of course I can," Kai said, hugging his sister, "But it doesn't hurt to look out for you, sis." He broke out of the embrace. "You're not gonna tell the others, are you?"

"Uh, yes. You probably don't know this, but we had a bet. We said that whoever discovered the identities of the samurai and the green ninja would become the Yellow Ninja."

Kai crossed his arms. "I thought the bet was whoever found out the identities would have to do that person's bidding for a solid month. And I'm sorry to say you didn't win the bet. You haven't figured out who the green ninja is yet."

Nya sighed. "I guess that's true. So the bet isn't over. But I guess it's time to end it. And I promise not to tell anyone."

Kai smiled. "Thanks, sis."

"By the way, how were you able to get all this stuff?" Nya asked.

"It only took Jay three hours to get the technology part of it built. And Dad and I forged up the samurai armor. You'd be surprised how much spare time I have waiting for you girls to come back from your missions. You better head back before anyone gets suspicious." Kai hands her the silver weapons. "And don't worry about Zelda. The green ninja saved her while I was helping you girls get out of there."

"Well, since I've figured out your identity, maybe you could tell me who the green ninja is?"

Kai shrugged. "I'm friends with the guy. Take a wild guess."

"That's not very helpful information, but I'll take it. And Kai?"

"Yeah?"

Nya sighed and smiled at her brother. "Whenever I get in trouble, the girls always have my back. And I know you will, too. I know the green ninja has your back, but... just be careful out there, okay?"

Kai nodded. "I will."

"By the way, how are you gonna get back?"

Kai places the helmet back on his head and ties the scarf around his mouth while also speaking in a mechanical voice. "I have my ways. Sorry about the voice. Jay installed a voice changing system on the mouth of the scarf. I still don't know how to change it just yet." He started up the jet pack, waved at his sister, and flew off in the distance.

Nya turned around to find the others when she heard a voice. "Nya, wait for me!" Turning around, she saw Zelda rushing up to her. "I apologize for my actions once again. If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have ended up in the slither pit."

"It's okay, Zelda," Nya said, "You have a lot of explaining to do when we get home."

Zelda nodded. "I figured I would."

The two of them began making their way through the sandy desert, searching for the others. Little did they know that they were looking for them on the other side.

"Nya?" Carol calls out, "Zelda?"

"Nya? Zelda?" Pixal shouts.

"Where are they?" Kitty asked.

That's when they realized the wings were moving by themselves, flapping up in the air. The three ninja chased after it, but it was gone in a flash. There goes their ride.

"Well, that's just fantastic," Kitty said, crossing her arms.

"You're telling me," Carol said, "We've lost Nya, Zelda's either lost or is still the Serpentine's prisoner, the samurai wings are gone, the green ninja and the samurai are nowhere in sight, and we have no way to get home."

"I wouldn't say that," Pixal said, pointing up on the sandy hill.

Standing up there was Nya with the silver weapons in her arms and Zelda standing beside her. It was only a moment later they formed up the Silver Jet and were flying home victorious.

For now.

**NEXT SCENE:**

The evening came quick and the ninja were glad as they stood in the bathroom and were either brushing their teeth or fixing up their hair for bed. After a long day of fighting the samurai and green ninja, they were ready to hit the hay and call it a night.

But none of them could stop thinking about the masked heroes.

Nya was finishing up her explanation about coming face to face with the mysterious samurai. "Like we all figured, he's a mysterious person. Never spoke a word. Then he handed me the silver weapons and poof, he was gone."

"Poof? He just poofed?" Carol asked, "That guy is starting to get on my last nerves. Him and the green ninja."

"Hold on a minute," Kitty said, setting her toothbrush back in the toothbrush holder, "If the samurai had his hands on the most powerful weapons in the whole wide world, why would he just give them back to you? That just doesn't make a whole lot of sense."

"Well, maybe he's not as a bad as we thought he was," Nya said, "All I do know is that we owe him our lives. Maybe he has made this all a little better. Iron sharpens iron. We should let him inspire us."

"I sense this means the bet is off," Pixal said.

"Yes, it does."

Zelda sighed, coming inside the bathroom. "I just wanted to come and wish you all goodnight. And I apologize for everything. You know how crazy I am about Ninjago's history. Once I learn about something new, I just grow curious and go up and beyond to figure out more about it. I hope you all can forgive me."

"What's done is done," Kitty told her.

"Water under the bridge," Nya said.

"You are forgiven," Pixal said.

"As long as you promise not to go off like that without telling us," Carol said.

Monica chuckled, barging inside the room. "Yeah, I think it's time we cut the act, Zelda. They're gonna figure it out sooner or later."

"What?" Kitty said.

"You mean it was planned the whole time?" Nya asked, bewildered.

"It was Monica's idea," Misako said, coming inside the room, "She wanted Zelda to go to Ouroboros and take note of what was going on."

"I installed a small video camcorder on the corner of Zelda's glasses," Monica explained, "Her part was to record everything she witnessed the Serpentine doing. And I have all the recordings on a disc. I also saved it to a flash drive so we'll have a spare just in case we lose the disc. Tomorrow I'll need everyone's full attention so I can show you what they're planning in the near future. And to discuss my plan."

"Your plan?" Carol asked.

"My plan is to send out spies. Since Zelda was caught, I can't send her out anymore. So one of you will have to become the spy in the group."

"For a pre-teen, you sure know your stuff," Kitty said, "Maybe you should be a part of our team. That is if you know how to fight."

"I can totally fight!" Monica exclaimed.

"Time for bed, Mon Mon!" Wu called out, "Would you like for me to read you a bedtime story?"

Monica groaned. "Dad, I'm too old for a bedtime story! And don't call me Mon Mon in front of everyone!" She stormed out of the room.

The ninja laughed as Zelda and Misako left the room with Nya following behind. Misako went inside her shared bedroom with Garmadon. Zelda was about to go inside Wu's bedroom when she saw Nya behind her and gave the water ninja a look of bewilderment. "Nya? Is there anything you need?"

"The green ninja saved you earlier today," Nya said, "Did you happen to see what he looks like?"

Zelda smiled. "That's for me to know and for you to find out."

Nya sighed. "Too bad. I know who the samurai is?" She saw Kai walking down the hall, overhearing their conversation.

Zelda placed a hand on her hip. "Really? Who may the samurai be?"

Nya gave a smile this time. "That's for me to know and for you to find out. I suppose that makes us even."

Zelda giggled. "Yes, it does. Good evening to you, Nya." She walked down the hall.

"You, too." Then Nya looked to her brother. "I made a promise and I don't plan on breaking it."

"I knew you wouldn't," Kai said, placing a hand on her shoulder, "As iron sharpens iron, sibling sharpens sibling. Goodnight, sis."

"Goodnight, bro."

The both of them walked back to their rooms.

Down the hall, Zelda passed Lloyd down the hall. She nodded her head to him. "Good evening, Lloyd."

"Zelda," Lloyd said, smiling, "Heading off to bed?"

"Certainly. But I would like to thank you once again for saving me today. If it wasn't for you, I would still be in the cage as a prisoner to the Serpentine."

"Anytime. Just don't get yourself in trouble like that without telling someone first."

"I promise. Cross my heart. Goodnight, Lloyd."

"Goodnight, Zelda."

With Zelda turning in for the night, Lloyd went inside his and Kai's room, fist bumping the brother of water.

"I call patrol for the city," Kai said.

Lloyd rolled his eyes. "Fine, I'll take country patrol."

"Too bad we won't be able to keep the secret much longer. I knew someone was bound to figure us out."

"Oh, well. We had our fun. But it just goes to show. Guys will always be the original heroes."

Kai nodded. "Just don't tell that to the girls."

It wasn't too long before the bounty was silent and Jay had finally seized his work on the monastery for the day. All was peaceful and quiet. And good became successful once again.

For now...

* * *

**OKAY, GUYS. HERE'S ANOTHER AMAZING CHAPTER TO THIS AMAZING STORY.**

**I'M PRETTY SURE YOU ALL KNEW KAI WOULD BE THE SAMURAI AND LLOYD WOULD BE THE GREEN NINJA. AND I WILL GIVE YOU A HINT: THERE'S MORE TO THE GREEN NINJA IN THIS VERSION THAN MEETS THE EYE. THAT'S IT. AND PLEASE NO GUESSES AS OF NOW.**

**ANYWAY, DON'T FORGET TO SPOT THE DIFFERENCE AND ALSO TELL ME WHAT YOUR FAVORITE PART WAS IN THE REVIEWS.**

**THANK YOU TO ALL THE READERS AND REVIEWERS. YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME!**

**ALSO, DON'T FORGET TO VOTE ON MY POLL ON MY PROFILE TO HELP ME MAKE A DECISION ON WHETHER I SHOULD CHANGE MY FANFICTION USERNAME OR NOT. I PLAN TO CLOSE THE POLL ON THE FIRST DAY OF SPRING. AND I CANNOT WAIT FOR THE COLD TO END.**

**WELL, I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS CHAPTER.**

**PLEASE REVIEW.**


	13. S1 E13: Meet Cyrus Borg

S1 E13

MEET CYRUS BORG, THE FAMOUS INVENTOR

A week has passed since the ninja discovered Ouroboros and fought against the samurai and green ninja, which turned out to be a fake battle in order to save Zelda and escape the Serpentine. And it was also proven that Kai was the samurai and Lloyd the green ninja, but only few knew that. They don't plan to break the secret to the others for a while.

It was later on they found out the mission was planned. And by Monica, who had Zelda sneak in to search secrets the Serpentine were hiding. So far, they learned that Pythor used the sacred flute to become the new leader of the Serpentine and he plans to marry a half-Hypnobrai, half-Anacondrai female serpent name Scalina to rule alongside him. Since Zelda wasn't able to find any other secrets, that was all the information they had.

But the ninja had more important things on their minds.

Training became their number one priority. In order to defeat the Serpentine, they needed to become stronger. Not only that, but they wanted to keep their strength up in order to discover their true potential.

Right now they were watching both a timer and a video camcorder as they watched and timed Pixal climbing up the tallest tree on the mountain, watching as she made it to the top under twenty seconds. She beat her record of twenty-four. The others couldn't believe it.

"Twenty seconds!" Nya exclaimed.

"She just broke her own record," Kitty said, "The girl's inhuman!"

Up in the tree, Pixal stood up to feel the wind blow calmly around her. The Robin flew up, landing on her shoulder. Smiling, Pixal petted her friend's head and, taking a deep breath, jumped and landed in front of her friends. She looked up at them. "I have returned."

"That was awesome!" Kitty exclaimed.

"We're not worthy," Carol said, bowing down in front of Pixal, "You are the fastest tree climber I have ever known."

"I broke the record?" Pixal asked.

"You literally destroyed it!" Nya exclaimed, "Twenty seconds. You are the greatest! I bet you're as fast as our teachers. Maybe even faster."

"Okay, girls, I think we're all thinking the same thing here," Kitty said, "We've been training for so long, I don't think we can get any better. Just think about all we've accomplished."

They heard a chuckle from behind them. They turned around to see Zelda walking up to them. "You all certainly have accomplished so much. Why I remember every single one. Nya now has the ability to move water aside if she plans to walk on the dry grounds of the sea. Kitty can create jungles and can even attract wild animals to come and join her in battle. And Carol can turn into any animal in all shapes and sizes and can even change size forms by using only her thoughts. For example, if she wishes to become a giant mouse, then she can form that thought and turn into a giant mouse. Or if she would rather be a small elephant, she simply forms the thoughts to be small and she turns into one."

Kitty chuckled. "That's a mouthful."

Carol gasped in delight. "Oh, I've always wanted to be a tiny elephant!"

"I believe the question should be raised," Pixal said, "Perhaps we have reached our full potential?"

"Oh, there you girls are." Everyone looked to see Misako climbing up from the cabin quarters. "I've been looking for you. I have found a scroll that explains an important matter. But first, Sensei Wu would like to see you all before he leaves."

"Leaves?" Nya said, bewildered, "Where is he going?"

"Where he is going does not concern you for now," Misako said, "Follow me."

The girls followed Misako to Sensei Wu's room. Monica was there helping her father pack as well as Garmadon. They all bowed in respect to their Sensei.

"My teacher," Pixal said, "Misako said you wanted to see us. We heard that you are leaving."

Wu sighed. "Yes, but I won't be gone long. I apologize if I've been distant lately. My mind has been elsewhere ever since Zelda was captured by the Serpentine."

Zelda chuckled. "There is no need to worry about that, Sensei Wu. I am here safe and sound on the bounty. You seem tense, though. Is something wrong?"

"Actually, I was wondering if there was anything you all needed before I leave."

"Well, there is one thing," Carol said, "It's about our true potential."

"Yes, me teacher," Kitty said, "Do you think we've done enough training? What if we've reached our true potential? What if we're ready?"

Wu nodded and turned around to face them. "You might have reached peak physical condition, but you've yet to reach your inner potential. In each and every one of us, there are obstacles that hold us back. Only when you conquer that fear will your heart be free. Only then will you reach your true potential. Only then will we have a fighting chance to stop the Serpentine from releasing the Great Devourer."

"So we have to find some sort of mental issue that's holding us back and once we fight it, we'll reach our true potential?" Carol asked.

Garmadon nodded. "Yes. And I can already determine what's holding all of you back. But I won't say a word. Not until the time is right. And because you must learn it on your own."

"I believe we understand," Pixal said, "Sensei Wu, I am beginning to worry for you."

"Why do you say that?" Wu asked.

"I think there's more to the Great Devourer than you've led on, isn't there?"

Sensei Wu sat down on the side of his bed, sighing. "I too have obstacles within my own heart. There's a story I've never told you. Long ago, when I was a young man, my father brought home a young lady around my age. When I first laid eyes on her, I knew at that moment that she was the one for me. Beautiful. Strong. Independent. Courageous. Blonde hair that flew in the wind, eyes as blue as the morning sky. A woman who I knew was the best. That woman was Valderra. Our relationship started out as friendship, but later on, it turned into love."

"Aw, how sweet!" Carol exclaimed, "You were once in love with a woman who ended up turning into the Queen of Darkness!"

"It was sweet before the darkness seeped through her," Wu said, "I ask for no more interruptions. Valderra wasn't always dark at heart. One day, a man to whom I refuse to state his name came one day and asked my father if he could stay to study and learn the way of the ninja. My father agreed and this man stayed for many months. Behind my back, Valderra was secretly getting to know that man. I didn't want her to think I was jealous, so I waved it off. But one day, Valderra went on a journey and was gone for three weeks. Nobody knew where she went, but when she returned, she was not the same Valderra that I knew. She told me her journey was to rethink our relationship and after much thought, she chose the man over me. A man who I later learned was very wealthy and was not only a famous historian and archaeologist, but also the next in line to become the governor of East Ninjago, the one who would become the king's right hand man. She left with him and I never saw her again until that horrible day when I had no choice but to fight against her. It was a day that devastated me and I confined myself in solitude for weeks. It was on the day she left with this man that I saw a snake bite upon her hand, leading to the conclusion that she was bitten by a legendary snake that would grow forever as long as it consumes. A great evil had found its way into the love of my life's heart, for the snake's venom could turn the purest of things wicked. It is the snake that took Valderra away from me. The snake is the same one the Serpentine want to reawaken today."

"So the Great Devourer turned Valderra into the Queen of Darkness?" Nya asked.

Wu sighed. "It was all my fault."

Garmadon placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. "It wasn't your fault, brother. You must not blame yourself for this."

"Wait a second," Carol said, "So how did Marga become the Dark Princess?"

"That is the important matter I wanted to explain to you girls," Misako said, showing them the scroll in her hand, "I found out why Marga became the princess of the Underworld. It was her destiny. You girls must remember that light cannot exist without darkness. Marga is the balance of the darkness. The Yellow Ninja is the balance of light. The balance is being broken with the darkness trying to win. That is why the battle between good and evil must happen. To bring the balance back to normal. But this battle will be different. In order for Marga to become the ruler of darkness, Valderra must be defeated."

"But good wins either way, right?" Kitty asked.

"Well, considering that once Valderra has been defeated and Marga follows her destiny to keep the darkness in balance to bring peace to Ninjago, then yes," Misako said, "We do win either way."

"So we just have to keep training," Nya said, "It's best for us to stay strong no matter what."

Wu nodded. "This is true. But for now, you four have finished your rigorous training. Continue, but be careful. You must now focus on stopping Pythor from collecting the fang blades. But never lose focus on the obstacles that lie within each of your hearts that holds you back from true greatness. Unlock your true potential."

"But how are we supposed to do that, Sensei Wu?" Pixal asked.

"It is up to each of you to discover." Wu picked up his bag and began walking out the doorway of his room. "Now I must go on a personal journey of my own."

"Where will you be going, Sensei?" Carol asked.

"To a place you cannot follow. I am going to find someone who can be of aid to us in battling the Serpentine. They have united and grown stronger and we will need all the help we can get." He walks up to the gang plank and is about to climb down when he feels a hand being placed on his shoulder. He turned around and saw his daughter standing there. He smiled. "I promise I will return."

"You always do," Monica said, "But you almost forgot something." She took out a stuffed panda and gave it to her father. "Our good luck charm. Fuzzles will keep you strong and help you when you need it most." She embraced her father and whispered in his ear, "Be careful out there, Daddy. I love you."

Wu smiled, not hesitating to hug his daughter back. "I love you, too, Mon Mon." After a moment of saying goodbye, Wu placed Fuzzles in his bag and walked off the bounty.

Nya sighed. "So I guess all we can do is wait."

"Well, I guess now is the best time to give out the mail," Lloyd said, holding up a stack of envelopes, "There's something important here for Pixal from her dad."

Pixal smiled as Lloyd handed her the envelope. When she opened it, her smile widened more than it ever has. "I have received wonderful news from my father. He has been nominated for Best Inventor at the Ninjago Science Awards Ceremony. And he's inviting all of us to come attend the ceremony with him."

"That's wonderful, Pixal," Misako said.

Nya gasped. "He's inviting all of us? This is amazing! I finally get the chance to meet Cyrus Borg!"

"But we should be focusing on finding the fang blades," Kitty said.

"Well, who says you can't search for them and enjoy yourselves at the same time?" Garmadon said, "You have worked and trained hard the past couple of weeks. I think a little rest won't hurt."

"And we can't miss out on an opportunity to meet the greatest inventor of all time!" Nya exclaimed, "Kai, get this bounty moving."

"Looks like we're heading to Pixal's home," Kai said, "I'll start setting sail in the skies." Kai heads over to the control room.

"Hold on," Lloyd said, "Jay just texted me and said he was coming over. I bet he'd like to meet Cyrus Borg."

"You bet I would." Everyone looked to see Jay climbing up on the bounty, this time wearing clean clothes not covered with sweat or dirt stains. "Sorry if I took so long. I finally got the outside of the bounty finished this morning. My dad and I will start on the interior next week."

Nya giggled, blushing like crazy. "I bet you both work great as a team."

"Like father, like son." Jay chuckled.

So the bounty was lifted off the ground a few minutes later, heading to Pixal's home in Ninjago City.

Let's hope the Serpentine aren't doing anything to spoil the moment.

**NEXT SCENE:**

It was true that the Serpentine aren't up to any schemes. Except for the fact that they were preparing a wedding.

A week ago, Pythor had chosen a female snake name Scalina to become his queen and rule the Serpentine with him. He admired her for many reasons. She was kind and quiet, not rude and loud like most female serpents. But she wasn't afraid to speak her mind when she needed to. She was the most beautiful out of all the ladies, considering she was a mixture of both Anacondrai and Hypnobrai.

Plus, Scalina told Pythor that being a queen was all she could ever ask for. It made him the happiest Anacondrai alive.

The wedding wouldn't be until sundown, giving Pythor plenty of time to get some work done as he and Skales were searching through the map of Ninjago to find the location of the four hidden fang blades.

Skales was beginning to call it quits. "This map says nothing about where the four fang blades are hidden. Have our ancestors left us nothing? Where are they? I'm beginning to grow impatient."

"Calm yourself, Skales," Pythor said in a cheerier mood than usual, "There must be something." He points to some writing on the bottom. "Look at this. This must be a clue. 'When five fangs unite as one, the path toward the Devourer has begun.'"

"Yes, when the five tribes unite. We've done all this. It means nothing."

"Then we need to figure out its meaning."

"Well, we better. If you don't find out soon, the others will begin to ask questions, and soon they will start to think you don't know what you are doing. It's bad enough that we have to do all this on the day of your wedding."

Pythor grows tired of Skales' complaining and bangs his hands on the table. "I know what I'm doing, fool. I'm trying to unleash the Great Devourer. Legend spoke of a map showing exactly where the four fang blades have been buried. There must be something around here. Keep looking. Once we find it, this day will be better than I've ever imagined."

"I believe you should be more concerned about getting married than you should be in finding the fang blades. You are about to wed a woman you will be spending the rest of your life with. Isn't that not exciting enough?"

Pythor chuckled. "Yes, but I'm in too good a mood to get on to you about your complaints. Let us continue our search."

Sighing, Skales did as he was told. It's not like he could do much else.

All he can hope is for the ninja not to begin searching for the fang blades. Or at least not know what they are.

**NEXT SCENE:**

The ninja arrive in the richest area of Ninjago City. The west side. Filled with the wealthy and most top class people in the entire city. Where Pixal lived, the area was known as West Wealth.

The bounty was able to land in a valley filled with various species of flowers, trees and even had hedges shaped into various amounts of animals. Everyone walked off the flying vessel one by one, Pixal being the first in line. She didn't hesitate to flop down on her back in the grass, letting the sun position itself on her.

She giggled. "It is so wonderful to be home."

Carol gasped. "Look at the hedges. Shaped in such beauty. Now this is what I call art."

"What is this?" Lloyd asked, "Does your dad own a valley or something?"

Pixal shook her head. "No, this is the garden. He planted it for me after I was born."

"So where's the house?" Jay asked.

Pixal hopped up off the ground. "Follow me. I will lead you there."

"I can't believe we're actually about to meet Cyrus Borg!" Nya exclaimed, "The Cyrus Borg!"

While they made their way to the grand mansion of Cyrus Borg, Kitty took out her notepad and began going over the question that needed ideas. "Okay, girls. Just because we're acting normal and all doesn't mean we should be slacking off from our main responsibility. So we need to go over ideas on how we're gonna find those fang blades. Anyone thought of anything?"

"Well, I could send out a chirp," Lloyd said.

"A what?"

"There's this social media site called Chirpy," Nya explained, "You join up on it, make friends or join up with your friends online and send out chirps, also known as messages."

"That may actually be a good idea," Kai said, "We could spread the word and everyone can help spread the word by sending the message to everyone they know. After all the Serpentine don't use technology. They'll never know anything about it."

"Yeah, I was just thinking about putting out flyers," Kitty said, "I'd rather do it the old fashioned way."

"And you kids say the old ways never work," Garmadon said.

"I don't know," Carol said, "Passing out flyers feel silly to me."

"Well, do you have any better ideas?" Kitty asked.

"No, but I think technology can be a better use than a piece of paper."

Garmadon sighed. "Instead of depending on the people, how about we try and do it ourselves? We will find the fang blades faster that way."

Kitty sighed, setting her notepad in her pack. "I should've thought of that."

"Who do you think Sensei Wu is going to find to help us?" Carol asked, "The samurai and the green ninja? Maybe we might be able to figure out who they are."

"Yeah, I think even the samurai and green ninja have figured out about the fang blades and have gone to search for them," Lloyd said.

"We have arrived!" Pixal called out, "Straight ahead!"

Everyone walked up to the mansion in front of them, bigger than what they expected. They saw someone sitting in a wheelchair on the huge back patio, a middle-aged man wearing glasses with black hair straight as a board, wearing a sweater and straight jacket. He smiled and began rolling down a large ramp, quickly wheeling his way over to the ninja.

Pixal ran up to him. "Father!" She stopped quickly and embraced him, shedding every bit of love into his heart. "It is wonderful to see you again."

"The same to you, my beloved daughter," the man said. Once he and Pixal stopped embracing, he looked at everyone she brought with her. "My goodness, you have a lot of friends, Pixal. I believe some introductions are in order so I can tell who is who."

"Of course." Pixal walked over to the ninja. "I would like for you to meet the rest of my team. This here is Nya, Carol and Kitty. My friends, this is my father, Cyrus Borg."

"Good to meet you," Kitty said.

"Hi," Carol said, giving a friendly wave.

"Oh, my gosh!" Nya exclaimed, "I can't believe it's really you! It's such an honor to meet you, Mr. Borg. I'm Nya Smith. Daughter of a blacksmith, but I absolutely love technology, especially everything you've invented. I may have been born in a village with only the basic technology, but I've studied your work and I plan on becoming an inventor myself one day."

Cyrus Borg chuckled. "Well, it's always a pleasure to meet fans of my work. I enjoy being surrounded by people like you."

Nya squealed in excitement. "So awesome!"

Pixal only smiled while introducing everyone else. "Allow me to introduce everyone else, Father. This here is Jay. He is helping to repair the monastery. This is Kai, Nya's eldest brother. This here is Lloyd and these are his parents, as well as our teachers, Misako and Garmadon. This is our friend, Zelda. And this here is Monica, the daughter of Master Wu, who was not able to accompany us as he has departed on a personal journey."

"It is an honor to meet all of you," Borg said, "Please, follow me inside. I'm sure you'd like to visit inside the home."

When they went inside, they could tell it was bigger than the outside. Filled with portraits and pictures and paintings, inventions protected in glass casings, and various vases filled with plants all over the main room.

"This reminds me of what the inside of a British mansion would look like," Carol said.

"Your home is beautiful, Mr. Borg," Misako said, "You and your wife must have wonderful memories here."

"Oh, yes, we... did have happy memories," Borg said, giving out a sigh of sadness.

Misako gasped. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"Oh, please. Don't apologize. It was a long time ago shortly after Pixal was born. I have healed from her loss over the years, but I will never forget her. Just keeping her memories in my heart keeps me strong everyday."

"And I feel the same way, Father," Pixal said, placing a hand on Borg's shoulder, "She is within both of us."

Kai cleared his throat. "So, pardon me from changing the subject, but we hear from Pixal that you're receiving an award for Best Inventor."

"You mean I've been nominated," Borg said, "I am going against another inventor, and let me tell you, one successful invention will not be enough to help him earn such a reward. Have any of you ever heard of Stanley Moore?"

"Nope," Kitty said.

"Doesn't ring a bell," Garmadon said.

"I do," Nya said, "He's the inventor of the Moore Microwave. Every single one of them ended up getting recalled because they were reported to explode and catch on fire."

"And he can't even design a simple video game controller," Lloyd said, "The one I used made by him ended up breaking apart into pieces. I spent fifty bucks on that, too."

"Well, I assure you that I take time to create each and every single creation that have been made by my two hands," Borg said, "Every phone, appliance and video game system never leave Borg Tower unless they are inspected by yours truly. Unlike Moore Creations, Borg Industries will make sure everything works as it should. Because we have one motto."

"The future is what we make it," Pixal said.

"Well, that's reassuring," Monica said, "Because the use of technology is what's gonna help us stop the Serpentine."

Footsteps were heard entering the front doors of the house and a woman who looked to be in her sixties with gray hair tied back in a bun and wearing a blue dress with a white apron entered, carrying a sack of groceries in each arm. But when she saw Pixal, she dropped the groceries and ran up to hug the nature ninja. "Oh, Pixal, it's so wonderful to see you again, dear."

"The same to you, Edith," Pixal said. She turned to face everyone. "Everyone, this is Edith. She has been my caretaker since I was an infant."

"An she is such a precious little angel," Edith said, pinching Pixal's cheeks, "I have never been able to have children in my life, but when I heard that Mr. Borg needed a caretaker for Pixal, I hopped on a train from Jamanakai Village and came right over. And even though Pixal isn't home at this moment, there are plenty of other things to do around here. Which reminds me, Pixal. You should show your friends your room. They'll love it. I've dusted it every day for you."

"Thank you, Edith," Pixal said, "Follow me, girls."

"I will take this time to give the rest of you a tour of the home," Borg said.

Pixal led the ninja upstairs. Following behind the ninja was Zelda, who couldn't hide behind for long. Kitty gave her a look. "What are you doing?"

"Joining in," Zelda said, "You know I love to explore. And one exploration I enjoy is personalities. I wish to get to know you all more."

"Ask and you shall receive," Nya said, "You don't have to learn by looking at your surroundings. You could just ask."

"I learn more from pictures on the wall than I do from people. Now let us continue forward."

Pixal walked over to a door that had a sign that said in beautiful cursive letters "Pixal's Room." Opening the door, she showed everyone the inside. They were expecting to see a room filled with plants, but they weren't expecting to see that it looked like any ordinary rich girl's dream room that normal girls wished they had.

There was a bed with blue bed clothes and sparkling green curtains. They spotted a few stuffed animals lying on the pillows. They also took noticed of the walls. It was painted as a meadow. In one corner of the room was her dresser and closet along with a place to sit around and watch television. In the other corner was a desk filled with papers and books, a bulletin board with ideas and blueprints pinned on, a bookshelf filled to the brim with books of all genres and a computer. It was definitely the room of every girls dream.

"Oh, my gosh!" Carol exclaimed, "Pixal, your room is amazing! I'm so jealous, but in a good way."

"Forget about living the simple life," Nya said, "You have the best life."

"As I have said before, my life is ordinary," Pixal said, "But please make yourselves comfortable."

"And this is the perfect time for us to be discussing ways on how to find those fang blades," Kitty said, "So let's get to work."

"Come on, Kitty," Nya complained, "We shouldn't be planning ideas for things we haven't the slightest clue for where they could possibly be." She sank in one of the bean bag chairs. "Take a break. Enjoy this room while we still can."

"Pixal, please tell me you have a closet full of stuffed animals," Carol said, "It will make me so happy if you do." She opened a door, but that's when she found it didn't lead to the closet. It led into the bathroom. She gasped. "You have your own bathroom? You are literally the most popular in the group." She goes inside the bathroom.

Kitty groaned. "Carol, don't start playing around in there."

"As I said, you may make yourselves comfortable," Pixal said.

Kitty sighed. "Can we start acting serious here? This is no time to be playing around."

Nya got a buzz sound on her phone. Taking it out, she saw Kai on the screen. Sitting up, she said, "What's up, bro?"

"Mr. Borg needs to see all of you," Kai said, "It's urgent."

Kitty nodded. "Enough fooling around, girls. Let's go." She rushes out of the room.

Carol walked out of the bathroom, shaking her head. "Why is she so serious all of a sudden?"

Nya shrugged. "No idea. Let's go."

The remaining three ninja and Zelda rushed out of Pixal's room and ran down the stairs, finally catching up with Kitty and making it down to the living room.

"I apologize for interrupting your enjoyment here, but I have just received a call from an old friend of mine," Borg said, "Dr. Adam Julien just notified me about one of his creations going haywire in the Ninjago National Forest. He calls it a juggernaut."

"A what?" Carol asked.

"No time to ask questions," Garmadon said, "Head out there and stop it."

"Let's go," Pixal said.

The girls rushed outside to bring out the Silver Jet, but then noticed that Zelda rushed out with them. "I beg of you. Allow me to come along with you. My grandfather has taught me to fight and defend myself. You may need my aid."

"You best let us take care of this, Zelda," Nya said, "We don't exactly know what this thing will do. We'll return as soon as we can."

Zelda sighed. "Alright. I will be waiting for your safe return."

The ninja combined their weapons to become the Silver Jet and off they flew through the skies. Luckily, Ninjago National Forest wasn't too far from Borg Mansion, so it didn't take long to get there. Once they arrived, they found a large opening and landed there.

Carol looked around, but all she could see was trees. "If I could find any forest creatures, I might be able to communicate with them to see if they've seen anything unusual out here."

"Oh, sure, let's try talking to animals," Kitty said, "That never fails."

"What has gotten into you? Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed, grumpy pants?"

Kitty groaned. "No. I don't feel good and I just wanna get this over with so we can go home or whatever and eat all the junk food I want."

Nya rolled her eyes. "Now I see what's wrong with you. Try not to get on Kitty's bad side, girls."

Carol shushed everyone. "I'm hearing something."

Rustling could be heard in the bushes. It took a moment for the culprit to be a rabbit hopping about in a frantic way. He made his way over to Carol, who listened to every word he said. Nodding, she assured him that everything would be fine and sent him on his way.

"What did he say?" Pixal asked.

"He said that a giant metal creature was roaming the forest and its heading our way," Carol said.

"Let's get into position, girls," Nya said.

They waited a moment until suddenly, out of nowhere, the Robin was tossed out of the trees, landing in front of Pixal. She bent down to pick the feathery creature up, only to realize that the Robin was sparking. She gasped. "You are... a robot?"

"Okay, that was unexpected," Carol said.

_BOOM!_

Trees began falling and coming through the dusty cloud was a large bronze-colored robot with turquoise-colored eyes. It was also armed with two cannons that pivoted over its shoulders.

"I sense this is the Juggernaut," Pixal said.

The Juggernaut used its robotic optics to spot the ninja, thinking they were the enemy. "Intruder! Intruder! Prepare to be terminated!"

"Ninja Go!" the ninja chanted, using spinjitzu to crowd up on the giant robot. But he uses his hands to push them away, making them land on the ground.

"Intruder! Intruder!" the Juggernaut said, "Prepare to be terminated!"

"Not today!" Kitty shouted, sending a rope of vines to tie him up.

The Juggernaut used its cannons to try and blast the ninja out of the way, but Nya got behind him. Using her fans, she sprayed water on the robot, causing his systems to go haywire and caused him to malfunction. It was only a few seconds later when his eyes were no longer shining and he fell over on his side.

The ninja cheered, happy to have defeated the Juggernaut, knowing that they just saved the forest.

"I can't believe we just defeated a robot!" Carol exclaimed, "So amazing!"

"Sure was," Nya said, "Now that we've taken care of this problem, let's get this big metal guy out of here."

Kitty gasped. "Wait a minute. Where's Pixal?"

They looked around and heard a scream of pain. They looked to see Pixal lying on the ground, groaning in pain. Not hesitating for a minute, they rushed up to her and their worried faces turned into looks of shock and fear.

There they saw Pixal holding the robotic Robin in her hands, her eye twitching and her body sparking.

And by her left side laid a small pool of black blood...

* * *

**ENDING IT ON A CLIFFHANGER. I'M PRETTY SURE YOU GUYS CAN GUESS WHAT'S GOING ON, BUT JUST A REMINDER: PLEASE NO SPOILERS IN THE REVIEWS.**

**WELL, IT'S BEEN A WEEK. LOTS HAPPENING. IT'S BEEN RAINING AROUND HERE IN THE SOUTH OF THE USA. TODAY IS THE FIRST DAY ACTUALLY SEEING THE SUN AFTER FOUR DAYS. I HAD GOTTEN A BAD CASE OF SINUES EARLIER IN THE WEEK AND HAVE FINALLY RECOVERED FROM IT.**

**OKAY, TIME TO THANK THE READERS AND REVIEWERS. YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST.**

**ALSO, DON'T FORGET TO SPOT THE DIFFERENCE OR TELL ME WHAT YOUR FAVORITE PART WAS IN THE REVIEWS.**

**ALSO, DON'T FORGET TO VOTE ON MY POLL ON MY PROFILE.**

**HOPE THIS CHAPTER WAS GOOD.**

**PLEASE REVIEW.**


	14. S1 E14: Accepting Who You Are

S1 E14

ACCEPTING WHO YOU ARE

Things were faring well in Jamanakai Village. The citizens were working, the children were playing and visitors were touring. Not a speck of trouble to be seen.

Walking through the village, Sensei Wu travels down the walkway. In an alley, he sees two familiar Skulkin: Kruncha and Nuckal. When they saw him, they feared for their lives and retreated, not wanting to be blasted away with Spinjitzu.

Wu rolled his eyes and continued forward, finally making it to his destination: Mistaké's Tea Shop. He went through the door, where an old woman wearing a sun hat and a sweater over her kimono was wiping off the counter and smiled when she saw Wu.

"Hello, Wu," the woman greeted, "Good to see you again. What will it be? The usual green tea? Or perhaps you're in need of chamomile tea?"

Wu shook his head. "None of those this time, Mistaké. I would like to purchase some Traveler's Tea."

"Traveler's Tea? Never heard of it!" But when Wu tosses some coins on the counter, Mistaké had no choice. Sighing, she takes a teapot and begins mixing the ingredients in boiling water. "You are a fool, Wu. Those who drink this never return. You know that just as well as I do." Once she finishes, she hands Wu the pot.

"Well, if I am never to return, I will not bother you again," Wu said as he walked out the door.

Mistaké chuckled. "Oh, yes, you will. You always come back."

Let's hope that he will.

**NEXT SCENE:**

A dragon swooped through the air, heading to Borg Mansion. This dragon happened to be Blossom and on her back were the ninja. They were rushing to get Pixal home to her father after she had been badly injured fighting the Juggernaut.

Her injury was strange, though. So strange that they weren't sure if she needed a hospital since she was sparking and bleeding black liquid from her side. Kitty checked the wound and said it wasn't deep, but it was causing Pixal more pain than they could even think and had a feeling it was more than just the small injury.

Once they made it to the mansion, everyone rushed outside. Kitty carried Pixal in her arms and brought her over to Borg. "She needs help. She got hurt fighting the Juggernaut. She just started sparking and bleeding black."

"And may I ask why that is?" Carol asked, tears welling up in her eyes, "Humans don't usually do that."

Borg looked surprised. "None of you knew? I thought Pixal told you."

"Told us what?" Nya asked.

Pixal started coughing, looking up at her father. "Father, please. I... need m-medical assistance." She sparked up just a bit, gasping at the pain.

"Stay calm, Pixal," Borg said, rubbing his hand gently on Pixal's forehead, "I'll get you fixed up. Let's get you to the lab. Edith, take our guest over to the dining room and prepare them some lunch."

"Yes, Mr. Borg," Edith said.

While Borg was fixing up Pixal, the ninja, Misako, Garmadon, Monica, Kai, Lloyd, Jay and Zelda were sitting at the large wooden dining room table as Edith was serving all of them lunch consisting of tomato soup and grilled cheese. But none of them were able to eat. Not after what they just seen and witnessed.

Carol had begun crying hysterically, clutching her stuffed bear Theodore so tightly as if she was afraid he would be taken from her. The others tried hard to assure her that Pixal would be okay, but no matter what they said or did, nothing consoled her.

Lloyd sighed. "Okay, we all know one thing. We just have to admit the fact that Pixal is a... um..." He had trouble thinking of the right word to say since he didn't want to sound disrespectful. "...what's a nice word I can use?"

"Robot," Kai said, "She's a robot."

"I was thinking more of an android," Monica said.

"Whatever the case, I still don't understand why Pixal didn't mention a word about who she truly is at all," Zelda said.

"I almost thought you were gonna call her a what," Kitty said.

Zelda gasped. "I most certainly wouldn't! Pixal is still a person no matter how she is made or created!"

Carol started crying louder, becoming the center of attention at that point. Misako sighed, hating to see others in such a state of misery. She got up and walked over to Carol, helping her up and placing her hands on the animal sorcery ninja's shoulders. "Let's go in another room and help you calm down." The two left the dining room. Carols sobs were a distant sound, far away from the room.

"Wow," Monica said, "I have never seen anyone that emotional before."

"She's only worried about Pixal," Garmadon said, "I don't blame her."

"What I want to know is why Pixal didn't tell us," Nya said.

"I've been wondering why myself." Coming in from the kitchen was Edith, carrying a teapot in her hands. "It's not like Pixal to keep secrets."

"I don't understand," Kitty said, "Why would Pixal keep such a secret? And why is she an android? Was Mr. Borg so lonely that he built a teenage girl to be his daughter?"

"Now that I think about it, Pixal has said time and time again that she was born from a mother who passed on not too long after she came along," Nya explained, "Something must have happened to her when she was a human."

"Something did," Edith said, a sad look spreading across her face, "It happened when she was nine. She was playing in the park and went out into the little patch of trees. She had always been a little monkey when she was younger. But a wild cat, a cougar it was, jumped out and started attacking her. When we found her, she was near death. Mr. Borg returned her to the mansion and was told that she had been clawed so deep in many places that there was no way to save her. But he can be a stubborn man at times. He would do anything to save her. So he kept her on life support while he created a cybernetic body that was an exact replica of hers. He gave it the ability to grow so she would be just like everyone else. A normal person. Once he finished, he took her off the life support, surgically removed her brain and installed it into the body. Thus creating a new Pixal. Human on the outside, machine on the inside."

"That makes a whole lot of sense, but why did he place her brain inside the body?" Kitty asked.

"So that she could still have her thoughts. It was the only organ he could save. She may have the body of a robot, but she still has her thoughts and memories."

"I guess I can understand why he did it," Nya said, "He had already lost his wife. He didn't want to lose Pixal, either."

"Reminds me of someone I know," Garmadon said.

"And who is this someone you speak of?" Kitty asked.

"That is a story for another time."

It was a moment later when Borg entered the room, a look of relief on his face. "I bring you all good news. Pixal is all fixed up and is resting up in her room. She would like to see you all. Now she's very upset that you all have found out she is an android, but may I ask that you all treat her the same way you have before?"

"We would never treat her any differently, Mr. Borg," Nya said.

"We're gonna go fetch Carol and Misako first," Kitty said.

"It's okay, everyone." They heard Carol's voice as she and Misako walked into the room. "I'm okay now. I get pretty emotional during times like this." They looked to see that she had wore some make-up and saw a combination of her mascara and eye liner puddled under her eyes.

Misako giggled. "Not all make-up is waterproof."

Everyone made their way upstairs and gathered in Pixal's room. She was lying in bed with the covers pulled up to her chest. When the door opened, though, she pulled the covers over her head. "Please go away."

"There is no need to worry, Pixal," Borg said, "It is only your friends."

Pixal scooted deeper under the blankets. "I don't want them to see me, Father. I mean no disrespect."

"It's okay, Pixal," Nya said, "We just wanna make sure you're okay."

"How you feeling?" Kitty asked.

"Please don't hide away from reality, Pixal," Carol said, "Just because your different doesn't mean we'll think of you any differently. At least we know why you always acted so weird."

"Carol," Monica said, shaking her head slowly in disbelief.

"It explains everything. Now we know why Pixal never had a sense of humor."

Pixal came out of hiding and sat up in bed. "I do have a sense of humor, but I turned off my funny switch. My humor mode tends to be sort of... strange."

"We've heard worse humor," Lloyd said, "Jay always tells bad jokes."

"Hey!" Jay said, "My jokes are not bad."

Pixal sighed. "I suppose you should have the right to hear it." She opens up her control panel and switches on the humor mode, quickly junping out of bed and going into a hilarious pose. "Hey there! Say, what's the deal with pickles these day? Some people say they hate them, but when it comes to rushing out the door, you seem to be in a pickle. Ka-ching!"

While Carol was the only one laughing while everyone else gave fake chuckles to help make Pixal happy. But Pixal quickly turned her humor mode off and sighed, almost on the verge of tears.

Borg rolled his way over to Pixal. "Now, sweetheart, there is no reason to keep your true self a secret from your friends. They don't see you any differently. In their eyes, they see you as the same Pixal they've always known."

"Yeah," Kitty said, "It just makes you more special. You're still the same Pixal. Just with more gears."

"No matter what you're made of, you're still our sister," Nya said.

"Really?" Pixal said.

"Yes. We are kind of angry that you didn't tell us. Having a robot on the team is the best of the best."

"In fact, we believe it even makes you an even better ninja," Kitty said.

"Every word we speak is true," Carol said, "And how amazing will it be that I can honestly say 'my sister is a Nindroidette?'"

"What?" Kitty asked.

"A combination of three words: ninja, an android, and a girl. And Pixal is all those things."

Kitty sighed. "Whatever. So you feeling any better, Pixal?"

Pixal shook her head. "Physically, yes. Mentally, no. I think I need some time alone. To sort out my thoughts. You are free to begin the search for the fang blades if you must. I will catch up later."

"Are you sure?" Nya asked.

Pixal nodded. "Yes."

The door swung open and rushing in was Edith, carrying a tablet in her hands. "Mr. Borg, Dr. Julien needs to speak with you. It's urgent." She quickly hands him the tablet.

Borg clears his throat. "Yes, Dr. Julien?"

"Cyrus, I hate to bother you once again, but I'm afraid some treehorns have escaped the Birchwood Forest and are heading to the Ninjago National Forest," Dr. Julien explained.

"Treehorns!?" Borg shouted in shock.

"Yes. You must stop them. Over and out." Dr. Julien ended the chat.

"Wait," Carol said, "What's a treehorn?"

"I'll research them on the way," Nya said, "Let's go."

They started to leave, but noticed Pixal climbing back into bed. She looked up at them. "Go on without me. I just need a little more rest. And some time to think. Have someone else fill in for me."

"I'll go!" Monica quickly volunteered.

"Nope," Garmadon said, "As much as I want you to, the answer must be no."

"But Dad's not here. What he doesn't know won't hurt him."

"But if I let you go out and get hurt, your father will come after me. You will remain here."

Monica groaned. "Fine."

"I think we'll be fine out there," Kitty said.

"You will need help identifying these creatures," Zelda said, "I will accompany you."

"We're wasting time," Carol said, "Let's go."

The three remaining ninja and Zelda were rushing out the mansion. They called out for their dragons, and flying in were Water Lily, Wild Cherry and Crystal. Zelda hopped on with Carol as they made their way to Ninjago National Forest.

Nya looked back at the mansion and sighed. "I wish Pixal were coming with us."

"I feel the same way, but we just need to give her some time," Kitty said, "If I were in Pixal's shoes, I'd feel the same way. But we just have to continue letting her know that she's still one of us. Even if she is a robot, that doesn't make her any different."

"Instead of calling her a robot, let's call her a Nindroidette," Carol said.

Kitty rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Carol. So who knows about these treehorns?"

"Nya, I recall you saying you would research these creatures," Zelda said, "Care to explain?"

"I can't exactly research them while flying a dragon," Nya said, "I'm pretty sure you have a book about them or something."

"As a matter of fact, I do." Zelda removed a book from her backpack and flipped through the pages until she found the one she was looking for. "Ah, yes. Here it is. Treehorns are a type of Ninjago wildlife. They are large, four-legged creatures that live in the Birchwood Forest and have large red eyes and pale blue skin dotted with irregular black patches—the latter forms a pattern reminiscent of a birch tree's bark. Overall, a Treehorn's long neck, large mandibles, and unnaturally long, thin legs make it appear as a cross between an insect and a deer."

"Okay, so we have a description of what they look like, but how do we defeat them?" Kitty asked.

Zelda looked closely at the page, reading aloud the next paragraph. "It says here that treehorns stalk their habitat in near-silence, their long legs nearly indistinguishable from the birch trees around them. When prey is spotted, they surround it and attack with their legs, kicking their prey around and stomping them when they fall. Although their height makes them somewhat unsteady and easy to knock down, they display high durability and surprising speed."

"So they use their long legs to camouflage as trees," Carol said.

"But only in the Birchwood Forest," Nya said, "Since the Ninjago National Forest isn't their original habitat, it shouldn't be too hard to find them. And if we sneak up on them, it shouldn't be too hard to knock them down."

"Well, it won't be too long now," Kitty told them, pointing straight ahead, "We've arrived at our destination."

"Down, ladies," Wild Cherry said.

The dragons lowered down to let their owners and Zelda hop off. They flew off to find a place to land until the battle was over.

Zelda placed her book back in her backpack. "Alright. I suppose it's time we got straight to business." She dug around until she pulled out a sword. "This should do."

"Zelda, are you sure you want to fight?" Nya asked.

"No offense, but you're more of a bookworm than a fighter," Carol said.

"I may not hold the power of nature, but there are other things I hold." Zelda swung her sword around. "Strength, agility, and sword. You should have seen the battle between me and a Hypnobrai name Selma in the slither pit."

"You fought against a snake?" Nya asked shockingly.

"It was the only way to gain my freedom. I should really thank my grandfather. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have learned the martial arts."

"Shh!" Kitty said. She placed a hand over her ear. "Do you hear that?"

"Did it sound cute and adorable or horrifying and mean?" Carol asked.

They stood there in silence. Kitty looked around and saw something swoosh by. She gasped. "Did you see that?"

"I didn't see anything," Zelda said, "Perhaps I need stronger glasses."

"Wait," Nya said. Then she saw a swoosh pass by and then the moving of long legs. "I just saw it too." The creatures with long legs came out, looking exactly as Zelda described them. "Treehorns!"

They heard a twitching sound coming from behind them. It turned out to be the Juggernaut they defeated earlier that morning. "Intruder. Intruder."

"Wait a minute," Kitty said, "I remember Kai telling us about that thing escaping the Birchwood Forest as well. It must have been going after the treehorns."

"Well then it's up to us now," Nya said, "Ninja Go!" She went into spinjitzu mode, but one of the treehorn's swatted her away like a fly, making her smack against a tree and falling on the ground. "Ow!"

"We can take them!" Kitty said, shooting arrows at the creatures. This only made them angry and one of them kicked Kitty so high she landed in a tree, hanging by the sash belt of her kimono on a tree branch. She sighed. "Why me?"

Carol turned into a hawk and started pecking at them while grabbing Kitty out of the tree. Zelda was able to use her sword to slash at their legs as she rushed over to help Nya. The four of them used powers and fighting strength to try and take them down, but no matter what they did, they couldn't seem to knock them down. They just kept coming and coming until they finally surrounded the ninja and Zelda.

"There's just too many of them!" Nya shouted in fear.

The girls continued the fight even as the treehorns overpowered them.

Who can save them now?

**NEXT SCENE:**

Pixal was sitting in her bed, with thoughts of everything that had happened earlier still deep in her memory. She just couldn't believe everything that had happened.

She never wanted her friends to find out about her true identity. And for good reasons.

Fear.

Fear that they might reject her, just as others have done. After the cougar attack and waking up as a robot, her old friends couldn't believe that she had cheated death after being on life support for so long. They thought of her as a weirdo and even told her she was strange. They shunned her and told her she didn't belong. And the worst part was none of them ever knew she was a robot.

Now she fears her friends will do the same.

She heard a knock on the door. At first she thought it was her father, but entering inside was Misako, carrying a tray of food. She smiled as she set it in Pixal's lap. "I figured you might be hungry."

Pixal set her eyes on the tray and shook her head. "I am not hungry."

"Are you sure? You've barely eaten anything." Misako could see it in Pixal's eyes. She could see the fear and knew exactly what was holding her back. "You are scared, aren't you?"

"Scared? What is there to be afraid of?"

"You are scared of not being accepted by the others. You fear rejection. But you have seen and heard that they think of you no differently, yet you won't believe it yourself. If they say you're still the same Pixal they know and care about, then so should you." She turned around and walked out of the room, smiling as she closed the door.

Pixal took a moment to sink in what Misako just said. It was true that the others say she is still the same Pixal, but why is it that she doesn't believe that herself? Is it because of how others have treated her in the past that she treats herself the same way?

That's it. The question had been the answer all along.

She needed to stop treating herself the same way others have treated her. That way she will finally accept herself for who she is.

A Nindroidette.

She heard a pecking sound on the window. She looked to see the Robin and rose up the window to let her in, letting her feathery friend perch on her shoulder. Learning that the Robin was also a creation of her father's, she cared for the robotic bird like a sister.

"You are my true friend, Robin," Pixal said, "And so are the others. I should have seen that all along. And now I do." She walked through the balcony doors in her room and lowered down a rope. She slid down until her feet were placed on the ground. She rushed over to Blossom and mounted her. "To Ninjago National Forest. And hurry."

"You don't have to tell me twice," Blossom said, spreading her wings and flying up in the air.

A few minutes later they arrived in the forest. After Blossom dropped her off, Pixal began running through the forest, calling out for her friends. "Girls! Where are you?"

"Pixal!" She heard her name being called out from the other side of the forest.

Rushing her way over, she gasped as she saw treehorns knocking her friends over and trying to stomp them to the ground. "Stop it! Leave my friends alone! Ninja, go!" Swinging her sais around, she used her elemental powers to create rose bushes with sharp prickly thorns. When the treehorns trampled on them, they winced in pain and fell to the ground.

Carol rose up from the ground. "Whoa. I never knew Pixal could be so violent."

"What's gotten into her?" Kitty asked.

"I don't know, but I kind of like it," Nya said.

"Well, let's stop sitting around and help her," Zelda said.

With a chorus of "Ninja Go!" came the sound of each using their elemental abilities. Nya sprayed them with water, Carol turned into an elephant and used the air in her trunk to blow them back, Kitty used her arrows and had them arranged to blow out a poisonous dust and Zelda slashed their legs with her sword. This caused the treehorns to back away, but not out of fear. They were crowding around one another in a tight group.

"What's going on?" Nya asked, "Are they regrouping?"

Carol turned back to her original form. "No. They can't be doing what I think they're doing."

Kitty gasped. "Who is that?"

They watched as a treehorn taller than the others came stomping up, giving a look that can literally kill.

"That is their queen." Pixal began walking up to the leader.

"Pixal, what are you doing?" Nya asked.

Pixal stood her grounds and looked the queen in the eyes. "Do not come any closer. I will not let you hurt my friends. They have seen me for who I am, not what I am. I have treated myself as others have, but that ends here. Whether human or machine, I am still Pixal Borg. I may be different, but I have learned to accept myself for who I truly am. And I am proud of it. There is nothing that will hold me back. I know who I am." She began to rise off the ground and began to turn the color of timberwolf.

The others looked with awe, not believing their eyes.

"What's happening to her?" Nya asked, "Was she programmed to do that?"

"I've never seen a robot do that," Carol said, "Then again, I've never seen a robot before until I met Pixal."

"You mean Nindroidette," Kitty told her.

Carol nodded. "You know it."

"No, that is not a programming," Zelda said, "Garmadon has explained this very similar process. Pixal has unlocked her true potential."

Pixal was brought up higher than the treehorn queen and by using her new special powers, she grew from the ground a giant venus fly trap to devour the queen and trap her inside its giant mouth, dissolving her from the inside. The rest of the treehorns ran off. Without their queen, they wouldn't stand a chance.

Pixal fell to the ground, exhaustion taking her over. The others came to help her as she looked up to them and asked, "What happened?"

"That was amazing!" Carol exclaimed.

"You should've seen yourself," Nya said.

"I ain't never seen anything like that before in me whole life," Kitty told her.

"I am proud to say that you have unlocked your true potential," Zelda said.

Pixal smiled. "This must be what Sensei meant by unlocking our hearts. I understand now. I understand everything. I remember how others used to treat me after my father gave me a second chance in life. I began to treat myself the same way everyone treated me. All I needed to do was accepted myself for who I am and feel proud knowing I was given a second chance in life. And I feel stronger for understanding. I feel better about being a Nindroidette."

"Okay, I am so jealous right now," Carol said, "Your powers are so incredible! I can't wait for the rest of us to unlock our true potentials!"

"And don't forget that we have our very own Nindroidette," Nya said.

"And as long as we stick together and continue growing stronger, we will stop the Serpentine once and for all," Pixal said, holding out her sais, "Watch out, Pythor. We're coming to get you."

And they mean it.

**NEXT SCENE:**

Sundown was near in Ouroboros and all the Serpentine generals were aiding Pythor in trying to find the map that lead to the four fang blades. So far they still haven't found it and were growing tired of the search.

Fangtom sighed. "Where are the four fang blades?"

"What if there is no map?" Acidicus asked.

"I know you grow impatient, but I don't know where to look," Pythor said, on the verge of panicking, "We must find it."

"We must get you to your wedding ceremony," Skales said, "Sundown is near. Scalina must not be kept waiting."

"I will attend the ceremony when the map has been found!" Pythor shouted.

"That's it," Acidicus said, "I'm taking my staff back. As are the rest of us."

The generals try taking their staffs back, but Pythor knocks them away and scatters them all over the floor. Then he looks down a moment and sees the anti-venom from each staff mixing together.

Pythor gasped. "That's it!"

"What's it?" Skales asked.

Pythor chuckled crazily as he recollects the staffs. "The Map of Fangs. It's been right in front of us all this time. 'When the five fangs unite as one, the path toward the Devourer has begun.' It's not speaking of the five tribes, it's the venom in the five staffs." He slides a piece of paper under the venom which creates a map leading to the fang blades. "Behold, the locations of the four Silver Fangblades! Soon, the Great Devourer will be unleashed and Ninjago will be ours!"

A knock came to the door. Skales opened it to reveal Scalina, smiling ever so sweetly. "I can't wait another minute, Pythor. I decided to fetch you myself." She places her scaly hand in his. "Are you ready, my king?"

Pythor smiles. "Whatever you say, my dear."

The two walked through the door hand in hand.

Work can wait. Marriage has begun.

**NEXT SCENE:**

The next evening in Ninjago City, the Ninjago Science Awards Ceremony was being hosted at the Ninsonian University of Science. Many different awards had been given out, but the one Cyrus Borg awaited had finally come.

"And the award for Best Inventor goes to... Cyrus Borg!"

Everyone applaud as Pixal helped her father up to the stage. Stanley Moore sat there pouting, wishing the award was his.

The host of the ceremony handed Borg his award and helped extend the microphone to the inventor. Borg cleared his throat. "I would like to say thank you to everyone here tonight. I know many of my inventions have succeeded over the years. I have made many creations, but there is one creation I am proud of more than anything else in the world. My daughter Pixal. I wouldn't know what I would do without her. Ever since the loss of my wife, she has been my pride and joy. She has kept me going through the hard times. Out of all my creations, Pixal is my greatest one of all." The crowd continues to applaud.

Pixal smiles down at her father. "I am proud of you, Father."

"And I am proud of you, Pixal."

The two gave each other a warm embrace.

Nothing can ever separate a father and daughter.

They are the greatest creations of all time.

**NEXT SCENE:**

And it was also that night when Wu did what he knew was reckless.

He was sitting in front of a campfire, holding the stuffed panda bear Fuzzles in his hands. He places it in his pack and picks up the pot of traveler's tea. Taking a deep breath, he uses it on the campfire, creating a portal. After giving himself a moment to think, he jumps through it, landing in a place known as the Realm of Madness.

As he landed on the ground, standing in front of him was the someone he was looking for.

"Hello, Wu. What took you so long?"

There stood the ruler of darkness.

Queen Valderra...

* * *

**HEY THERE, GUYS. I BRING YOU ANOTHER CHAPTER OF THIS FAMOUS STORY. JUST WANNA GET YOU GUYS READING SOMETHING TO HELP PEOPLE ESCAPE FROM REALITY FOR A LITTLE WHILE. **

**WOW. IT'S FRIDAY THE 13. IT'S BEEN A PRETTY FREAKED OUT DAY. JUST CAN'T BELIEVE IT. HOPE YOU GUYS ARE STAYING HEALTHY OUT THERE. MY PRAYERS GO OUT TO EVERYONE SICK AND WELL. AND YOU GUYS KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT.**

**SO, GUYS, I PLAN ON TAKING OFF MY POLL FOR WHETHER OR NOT I SHOULD CHANGE MY FANFICTION NAME. SO IF YOU HAVEN'T VOTED, YOU STILL HAVE UNTIL THURSDAY TO DO SO.**

**GIVING A SHOUT OUT TO ALL MY AMAZING READERS AND REVIEWERS. YOU GUYS ROCK!**

**ANYWAY, DON'T FORGET TO SPOT THE DIFFERENCE AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU FAVORITE PART WAS. OR YOU CAN TELL ME HOW THE STORY'S GOING. DOESN'T MATTER TO ME. I JUST LOVE HEARING FROM YOU GUYS.**

**HOPE THIS CHAPTER WAS GOOD.**

**PLEASE REVIEW.**


	15. S1 E15: First Dates Can Sometimes Bite

S1 E15

FIRST DATES CAN SOMETIMES BITE

Things may have settled down with the snakes for a little while, but the ninja weren't taking any chances. They knew Pythor was still out there trying to find the fang blades to unleash the Great Devourer. They plan to be the first ones to know anything and all whereabouts.

For now the ninja and allies were gathered in the control room. Kai was standing beside a table with a sheet covering something underneath. Lloyd was standing by the main computer system, typing up some information. Monica was right next to him helping out. Garmadon and Misako were standing in the room watching as Kai was beginning the lesson. Zelda was sitting with the ninja as she prepared to take notes.

Kai removes the sheet to reveal the fossilized remains of a Serpentine. Clearing his throat, he began to explain the reasonings for why there was a pile of snake bones sitting on a table. "A couple of days ago, some villagers unearthed the remains of this Fangpyre a few miles away. It predates the Golden Age, and is probably hundreds of years old. Although the venom in the fangs of the Fangpyre genetically mutate human cells into reptilian, Lloyd and I learned there could be a way to stop the effects without having to create an antivenom. Lloyd, mind showing them the demonstration?"

"Sure thing," Lloyd said, pulling up a graphical image.

Garmadon walked around to make sure the girls were taking notes. Zelda and Pixal were vigorously writing every word, Nya wrote down the important information while just being bored the entire time. Carol was drawing a picture of herself with animals of the forest surrounding her. Garmadon shook his head and took the paper from her, handing her a notepad. Kitty, on the other hand, didn't even bother to take notes. She was too busy staring at Kai with a look of infatuation. She was wearing her old ninja gi since she still refused to wear the kimono ninja suit in front of Kai. Garmadon sighed. Young love in today's world was truly strange these days.

As they watched the demonstration, Kai went on to explain it. "If a person is able to wildly raise their heart rate, hypothetically it could reverse the venom's effects. Although I'm still not sure myself if this is true." Then he paused while sniffing the air. "Uh, Lloyd, are you wearing cologne?"

"No," Lloyd said, shaking his head, "It's probably my dad."

"Don't look at me," Garmadon said, coughing, "I'm allergic." He quickly walked out of the room. Misako followed behind him.

Carol used her sniffing abilities and, acting like a dog, walked over to Kitty and sniffed her back. "And the culprit is Kitty. She's wearing a man's fragrance."

Kitty gave Nya a stern look. "You told me it was women's perfume."

"Sorry about that," Nya said, shrugging, "It was a joke. Besides, I'm allergic to perfume. Can't let the toxins get into me or I'll end up going into shock."

"Well, you could've just told me."

Carol chuckled. "I think this session is over. We better keep an eye out so we'll know when we can start stomping some Serpentine before they find any fang blades."

"Sounds like a plan," Nya said.

"I'm excited to begin searching for them," Pixal said.

"I best begin planning my lecture for you all tomorrow about the Venomari," Zelda said.

They all walked out of the control room together. Kitty stayed behind, collecting the pencils and extra paper off the table. Kai turned around, smiling at the red head. She was such a beauty to behold. He would've kept staring had it not been for Lloyd.

"Hey, Kai, you wanna do a round of sparring?" Lloyd asked, "I've been practicing a few new moves with my dad."

"Maybe later," Kai told him, "How about you and Monica go check on the sails or something?"

"Pass," Monica said, "I gotta get back to work on my novel ideas." She quickly left the room.

Lloyd noticed Kai looking at Kitty and saw what his friend was up to. "You're actually gonna go for it?"

"Yes, but I can't unless you go," Kai said. Lloyd left the room, giving Kai the chance to casually walk up to Kitty. "Hey, Kitty. So I guess you took some cologne instead of perfume, huh? Yeah, that's my sister for you. She does some of the weirdest things for you to get to know her."

Kitty sighed. "It's fine. It was only a joke. No harm done. It's not like I was trying to impress anyone or anything. I guess I better go and start finding snakes to fight."

Kai chuckled. "We're you actually trying to impress someone?"

"Kai, don't toy with me. I'm not in the mood."

"Whoa, what's with the seriousness all of a sudden?"

"It's nothing." That was a lie. Kitty was worried about something. Her one concern was her true potential. She still wasn't sure what was holding her back, but she aimed to find out. Her second concern consist of drawing too close to her feminine personality. She feared about being too girly because, in her opinion, that led to being nothing but a normal cute girl who couldn't defend herself and became a damsel in distress who would be awaiting help instead of fighting her own battles. And she plans to be the complete opposite of that.

Kai smiled. "Well, I think I might be able to help get you away from all the fighting for a little while. How about I take you out somewhere tonight? Maybe a nice restaurant? Take you to see a movie? Maybe to the amusement park?"

"Are you asking me out on a date?" Kitty asked.

"Yeah, I am," Kai said, rubbing the back of his neck.

Kitty smiled. "That'd be nice. I'd love to."

"Okay, well, I guess I'll see you tonight."

"Same to you." Kitty waited until Kai was out of the room to give out a fan girl squeal. "He actually asked me out! I can't believe it!" She gasped. "I gotta get ready." While running out, she scratched herself on the fang of the fossilized Fangpyre. "Ow!" She looks at it, then shrugs. "Oh, what does it matter? It's not like I'll turn into one of those things." She rushed out of the room to find Nya. Maybe hopefully the water ninja could help her get ready for her date. Especially since she's never been on one.

Dripping on the floor was venom from the skeleton's fang. A fly flew by and consumed some of the venom, turning into a mutant Fangpyre fly. Turns out dead snakes still have their uses.

Which might not be so good in Kitty's case.

**NEXT SCENE:**

Wu did not know how long he had been on the Mountain of Madness. He could remember seeing Valderra again after so long and suddenly blacked out. Now he woke up and was standing face to face with the woman he once loved many years ago.

Valderra gave Wu an evil smile. "Hello, Wu. What took you so long to get here?" She spies the katana sheathed beside him. "You brought the katana from our training days. Oh, those are days I refuse to forget. I can remember our duels and days spent in the sun. You never had the courage to beat me, yet now you have the courage to come here."

"I did not come to catch up on old times, Valderra," Wu said, "Why have you come to this place of darkness? You do not belong here."

"Oh, that is where you are wrong, Wu. This place is as wicked as I am. Don't you see? Here I feel at home. In Ninjago, I was physically unable to hold all four silver spinjitzu weapons. But here, dark magic has made me stronger and what was once impossible is now possible." She reveals to Wu an extra set of arms underneath her original set.

"You came here only to possess the Silver Weapons of Spinjitzu?"

Valderra nodded, summoning four weapons from behind her back. "Yes, Wu, and I refuse to allow you or your petty little ninja and family to stop me!" She ran up and started attacking him.

Wu unsheathed his katana and tried fighting back, but Valderra pushed him back before he could bring up a strike. He falls down in a pit of mud and tries to fend against the mud monsters, but they grasped him tightly before he could escape. He gasped. "Valderra, please, listen to me. I've not come here to fight!"

"I don't believe you," Valderra said, "You will pay for your visit. Mud monsters, converge!" They obeyed and began mashing up against Wu. "You don't belong here, old fool. You should've known better than to try to stop me. I will submerge Ninjago to darkness and there is nothing you can do to stop me."

Wu struggled to free himself, but the creatures of mud were stronger and began sucking him in. "I didn't come to stop you. I came to warn you. To tell you..." He was sucked in, but came out just long enough to finish what he had to say. "...the Serpentine have been released!" He was sucked in again.

Valderra gasped. "What?!" She drops the weapons she held and quickly rushes up to pull Wu out of the mud monsters.

He coughs and gasps for air. Then looks up at Valderra. "Thank you. Perhaps there is still some goodness left in you after all."

Valderra sighs. "Don't mention it. Now who released the Serpentine?"

Wu sighs. "You will not like the answer, but... your granddaughter has brought them back."

Valderra shook her head. "No, not Marga. She cannot leave the Underworld. And even if she could, I have taught her to never trust a snake."

"I do not speak of Marga. I speak of Zelda."

"Zelda? But she is too sweet to do such a thing."

"It was only an accident. She was trying to search for you and Marga, but instead opened a can of worms I fear I will never be able to close."

"You mean we will never be able to close." She walks over to Wu. "Get up. You can tell me more later. First, we need to return home. How did you find me?"

"Traveler's Tea. But I used it all and now have no way back. Do you know of a way?"

Valderra nodded. "In this realm, there is only one way to return to Ninjago. But to get there, we must pass through the Mountain of Madness and it is a long and dangerous road ahead."

Wu chuckled. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Where we are going is no laughing matter, Wu. We should leave before it really gets dark. I will lead the way."

"Whatever you say."

Wu followed Valderra through the dark realm of the Mountain of Madness. He wasn't sure if following his enemy was a good idea, but this enemy was once the love of his life. Perhaps he could trust her this once.

When all else fails, follow your enemy and your friend.

**NEXT SCENE:**

Fun and festivities were happening in Mega Monster Amusement Park. Just outside the park, the Serpentine dug their way above ground, climbing out and looking around at their surroundings.

Skales examines the map to make sure they're at the right location. "This is it, Pythor. The map leads us here. The first fang blade." He points directly at the park, noticing a lot of people crowding there. "Maybe it's better to wait until dark, so we don't attract any unwanted attention from the ninja or the samurai and the green ninja."

Pythor chuckles. "Oh, I have a feeling we'll fit right in." He took Scalina's hand in his as they made their way into the park.

The park was filled to the brim with families, groups of friends and couples out on a date. People were playing games, riding rides, eating delicious snacks, and kids were having a blast eating candy and running away from the park mascots.

There was actually a family that stopped Pythor and his little entourage.

"Excuse me," the father said, "Would you mind if my family takes a picture with you?"

"Your costume is so authentic," the mother told him.

Scalina giggled, whispering in her husband's ear. "Go along with it."

Pythor gave a smile and said, "Of course. Welcome to—to..." He looked up at the sign to figure out the name of the park. "...Mega Monster Amusement Park!"

Pythor and Scalina stood behind the family while Skales held up the camera. "Say cheese."

"Cheese!" they said as Skales took the picture.

The flash blinded Pythor for a moment, making Scalina giggle. Pythor smiled, content to see that his wife was enjoying herself.

A man will do anything to make his wife happy.

**NEXT SCENE:**

Back over at the Destiny's Bounty, Kitty was checking herself over in the mirror. Nya had tried every trick in the book to convince the wild ninja to allow Kai to take her out somewhere fancy, but Kitty wasn't having it. She wouldn't be caught dead in a dress. It was bad enough she was being forced to wear a kimono.

In the end, Kitty decided for the casual look. She picked out a white blouse, black jeans, a green sweater and black flats. She even added on just a dab of blush and lipstick. Her jewelry consisted of pearl earrings and a silver bracelet with seashell charms. Just an example of her girly side coming into view.

Taking a deep breath, she practiced her actions and words in front of the mirror. "Okay, there's no reason to worry. Just be honest with him. Don't exaggerate. Be respectful and listen to every word he says. That's what Mama always says. Don't be rude. He likes you and hopes we can be a couple in the future. And let's be honest, so do I." Then she takes a look at her hand and gasped. "Oh, me goodness!" Her hand had turned a shade of green and was growing scales. "Oh, this can't be happening! The prick from the Fangpyre fang! It really did have effect! This is terrible!" Then she chuckled nervously. "Ah, it ain't nothing. Just a little rash is all. It'll go away." She slipped on a pair of black gloves while giving herself encouragement. "You'll do just fine, Kitty. This is your chance to shine on the wild side."

She made her way into the control room. Carol was the first to notice her and gasped in delight. "Oh, my gosh! You look so pretty, Kitty! What's the special occasion?"

"Kai's taking me out on a date," Kitty told her.

"Where is he taking you?"

"We'll decide when we head out."

"You might wanna change your plans," Pixal said, "The bridge just picked up evidence of Serpentine activity over at Mega Monster Amusement Park." She showed them the picture of the Serpentine's whereabouts. And one of the snakes in it was none other than Pythor.

"That's Pythor!" Carol shouted, "What's he doing on the funnest place on earth?"

"We know he's not there for fun," Nya said.

"Affirmative," Pixal said, "The only logical reason Pythor would be there is if a fang blade has been buried underneath the park."

"Them snakes won't be putting their scaly hands on nothing," Kitty said. Then she sighed. "I guess I better tell Kai that we need to reschedule our date."

The girls looked at each other for a moment. They all nodded silently in agreement and went up to Kitty.

"Don't worry about it," Carol said, "You go and enjoy your date."

"I do recall you saying that you and Kai have yet to find a location for your evening out," Pixal said, "Perhaps you could go there so you will be close by in case we need you."

"Which we won't need you," Nya said, "I'm sure we can handle it. We could ask Zelda to come along with us."

"I guess that would be fine," Kitty said, "After all, I do love amusement park rides and food. Are you sure you won't need me?"

"Go have fun," they said together.

Kitty rolled her eyes. "Alright, I'm going. Later." She walked out of the room.

The remaining three ninja headed for Wu's bedroom. Since Zelda was staying in there, that would be the place to find her.

Nya opened the door, poking her head in. "Zelda?" Nobody was inside.

They went inside, looking around for any sign of Zelda, but there was none.

"I wonder where she is," Carol said.

Nya sighed. "Let's hope she didn't run off again." She then spotted a written note on the bed. Picking it up, she read it aloud. "'Sorry this is such short notice, but to calm your concerns, I just wanted to inform you that I am located at Mega Monster Amusement Park. I'm not alone, by the way. I'm with a friend. Zelda. P.S., in case you're wondering, I have not ran off. I'll call you on my way home."

Carol gave a smile. "Well, I suppose three is better than none."

As the three of them walked out of the room, outside the bounty, Kai was flying back in his samurai attire. After spending the last two hours on snake patrol, he was glad to be home. Plus, he had to prepare for his date.

He found a note on the nightstand belonging to Lloyd. "Went to Mega Monster Amusement Park with a friend of mine. Be back later. Lloyd." Shrugging, he sat the note back on the dresser and went to change.

Once he sat his clothes on the bed, a knock came up on the door. "Kai, are you in there?" It was Kitty.

"Uh, yeah," Kai said, "Don't open the door. I'm getting ready."

"I had no plans to. I figured out where we should go on our date. You'll like it just as much as I will."

While Kai was trying to take off his samurai suit, he got an alert mode on his communicator. "Serpentine spotted at Mega Monster Amusement Park."

"Oh, great," Kai mumbled under his breath.

"You okay in there?" Kitty asked.

"Yeah, I'm good. Just trying to find my jacket." He accidentally kicks the samurai helmet. "And I'm trying my best not to break anything." Setting his helmet in the closet, he checked himself to make sure he was ready. A simple red jacket, a red t-shirt with a flame design, and brown pants with black tennis shoes were perfect for a normal date. He grabbed his wallet and opened the door. "So where are we going?"

Kitty smiled. "Mega Monster Amusement Park. That is if you want to."

"Sounds fun to me. You wanna fly there on Wild Cherry or should we take the station wagon?"

"I'd rather fly. It's much faster."

"Whatever you want."

The two walk down the hall, heading out for their first date.

Let's see how things will go for them.

**NEXT SCENE:**

Back in the Realm of Madness, Wu and Valderra were following the path to make their way to the most dangerous part of the Mountain of Madness. They hardly spoke a word since they began their journey. It was difficult just standing next to each other on account of their history together, but they would do their best to work with one another.

Wu removed the stuffed panda from his pack. He looked at little Fuzzles with his fuzzy plush. Every time he looked at the stuffed animal, he thought of Monica and thought about the day _she _made him for their daughter. All the memories they had together during their daughter's first year. He just couldn't believe they lost _her._ Some days he can't imagine that it was all real. That _she _was actually gone.

Valderra noticed what Wu was doing and asked, "Is that your daughter's?"

Wu nodded. "Yes. It's Monica's. She gives him to me whenever I leave on a journey. It helps me think about her. And it gives me strength to return home."

Valderra gives a little smile, but removes it and changes the subject. "May I ask what kind of trouble Zelda is getting herself into?"

"She is no trouble at all. Her journey was to find you and Marga. But during her travels, she accidentally reopened the Serpentine tombs, and now that they have united, Pythor is trying to find the four silver fang blades to unleash the Great Devourer."

"The very snake that turned me evil?" Valderra was on the verge of anger just from hearing the name of the horrid creature.

Wu sighed. "I'm afraid so."

"You must remember that the vile creature almost..." Then she stopped and sighed heavily. "Forget it. I don't want to open old wounds. So where is Zelda now?"

"She is residing with me and the others. We will take care of her. And we also promised that we would help her find you and Marga."

Valderra shook her head. "I don't believe she should see me. Or her sister. I just don't believe her valuable time should be wasted on finding us. I wonder why she wanted to."

"To beg you to return home, but even I know that is impossible."

Valderra nodded in agreement. "Indeed. It will be hard for her to understand that not everything can go the way you hope it will. Thank you for watching out for her."

"I would do anything for you, Valderra. You may think of me as your enemy, but I was first your true love." Wu actually mustered up the courage to place his hand in hers.

Valderra noticed this and quickly unlocked her hand from his. "You were once, Wu. Those days are gone. The past is the past, and the future is the future."

The two continued walking in silence, Wu walking behind Valderra instead of being in front. He secretly regretted holding her hand, but he was hoping she would remember old times.

People change during their years. In body and in mind.

**NEXT SCENE:**

Kai and Kitty had arrived at Mega Monster Amusement Park only two hours ago and throughout that time they rode several different rides, played a few games, to which Kai won three different stuffed animals for Kitty, and now they were dining at the restaurant, wishing they had split their dish considering that the portions were so big.

She had learned a few things about Kai. He enjoyed watching movies about action, horror and comedy, except not all three at the same time. He loves listening to rock music and he once had a pet lizard name Guzzler since he loved drinking soda. His hair is naturally spiked up and he hopes to take over the family blacksmith business when his father retires.

And Kitty was almost at a loss of what to say. What should she tell him? What did she enjoy doing? Then she remembered that she needed to be honest. No lying. That's what she aims to do.

"So I guess I should mention that I don't really watch a lot of television considering that when you're sailing on the seas, you don't get reception," Kitty explained.

"So what did you and your brothers do for fun?" Kai asked.

"Well, we played board games and went on treasure hunts. There was actually this one time when me Papa bought one of them metal detectors and me brothers and I would go out on the beaches and see if we couldn't find some valuable stuff buried under the sand. Kevin actually found this little wooden box and the inside of it was filled to the brim with gold rings. We still have them."

"Do you have any with you?"

"I brought along a couple. They're back on the bounty. Did I ever tell you about the time I almost ate a poisonous eel?"

Kai placed his eyes back on Kitty. He had been paying attention to the doors rather than her for just a few seconds. "Poisonous?"

"Uh, you okay? You seem kind of jumpy?"

"Oh, uh, sorry about that. It's kind of hard to see you because of these giant portions of food. We probably should've split our dish."

"Ain't that the truth. So you've been hearing about the mysterious samurai and the green ninja, right?"

"Who hasn't?"

"I'll admit that the samurai is a pretty big help. I actually hated him at first."

"Really?" Kai did his best to hide his feelings of hurt.

"I did at first, but then I came to realize that he's not that bad of a guy. Or girl. Either way, I have this strange feeling that the samurai is actually trying to help us. They hate the Serpentine and I'm sure they know about those fang blades. They could be a great asset."

"Good to know." Kai gave her a smile. "I know the samurai's probably out there right now kicking scaly butt. What's your opinion on the green ninja?"

"Well, I'll admit that he's a pretty great hero himself, but those powers are really questioning. Could it be that the green ninja has actual elemental powers?"

Kai shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe he does, maybe he doesn't."

Kitty chuckled. "I'm just wondering who they are. Why do they try keeping themsssselvessss..." She gasped just a bit and checked her reflection in a spoon sitting on the table. She was shocked to see she was growing actual fangs. That Fangpyre scratch was really seeping in fast.

Kai began to worry. "Are you okay?"

Kitty placed a hand over her mouth and hopped out of her seat. "Please excuse me, I need to use the resssstroom." She rushed through the dining area and made it over to the women's restroom. Once she made it inside and locked the door, she looked in the mirror and saw her face was turning green. Making sure she wasn't going crazy, she removed the glove off the hand she scratched on the fossilized Fangpyre earlier and saw that it was turning green as well.

She couldn't believe it. And she didn't wanna believe it.

But it was happening.

"Oh, no. This is horrible. I'm turning into a ssssnake!"

This is bad.

No, scratch that. This is officially the worst...

* * *

**OKAY, GUYS, I KNOW WHAT I SAID IN THE AUTHOR'S NOTE, BUT APPARENTLY THERE WAS A CHANGE IN PLANS. DUE TO THE WORLDWIDE OUTBREAK, THE SCHOOLS IN MY STATE HAVE CLOSED FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR. BUT DON'T WORRY, YOU GUYS. I HAVE A NEW SCHEDULE AND I SHOULD HAVE CHAPTERS BACK ON. I MAY NOT HAVE THE NEXT ONE OUT UNTIL LATER ON NEXT WEEK, BUT WE'LL JUST SEE HOW IT GOES.**

**ANYWAY, HOPE YOU GUYS ARE STAYING HEALTHY OUT THERE. I'LL ADMIT, I CAN'T STAND BEING COOPED UP IN THE HOUSE ALL DAY, BUT I'M DOING WHATEVER I CAN TO PASS THE TIME. **

**SO DON'T FORGET TO TELL ME WHAT YOUR FAVORITE PART OF THE STORY WAS AND DON'T FORGET TO SPOT THE DIFFERENCE.**

**GUYS, IF YOU EVER GET BORED AND JUST WANNA TALK, JUST PM ME AND WE'LL DO SO.**

**ALSO, THANKS TO ALL THE AMAZING READERS AND REVIEWERS OUT THERE. YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME.**

**AND I'M GONNA CLOSE THE POLL TONIGHT, PEOPLE AND ALL THE VOTES WILL BE TALLIED AND YOU GUYS WILL KNOW THE ANSWER BEFORE EASTER.**

**OKAY, GUYS, I BEST GET GOING. STAY HEALTHY OUT THERE.**

**HOPE THIS CHAPTER WAS GOOD.**

**PLEASE REVIEW.**


	16. S1 E16: People Will Change, Not By Heart

S1 E16

PEOPLE WILL CHANGE, BUT NOT BY HEART

Outside in the game area of Mega Monster Amusement Park, a dart was thrown at a balloon. Four more darts followed behind, each hitting one or two balloons every time. The carnie in charge of the booth began jingling a bell in his hand, meaning they had a winner.

Standing in front of the booth was Lloyd and Zelda. Lloyd smiled and said, "I'll take the stuffed bear from atop of there." He pointed up at the only stuffed bear hanging on the prize wall.

The carnie reached up and grabbed it, tossing it to Lloyd. "There you go."

Lloyd handed the stuffed bear to Zelda. "This here is for you."

Zelda giggled, taking the stuffed bear. "Thank you. I'm having such a wonderful time, Lloyd."

"Well, I just thought that it'd be nice to get away from the bounty and have some fun. I know we're still looking for the fang blades, but I'm sure nothing will happen today. The Serpentine are probably still trying to figure out where they are."

"We don't even know where they are. The serpents of the past probably had good reasons to hide them."

"I'm pretty sure they did. But enough about all that. You wanna go ride the Haunted Temple?"

"I don't see why not. How scary is it?"

"Oh, believe me. You'll be laughing instead of screaming."

Zelda chuckled. "We'll see about that."

Scary ride, huh? Will it be cheesy or horrifying? Time will only tell.

**NEXT SCENE:**

Back over at the dining area of the park, Kitty was still locked up in the women's restroom. She was too embarrassed just to show her face and feared that if she left the washroom, she would be pummeled by everyone in the restaurant.

Someone had come knocking on the door. Kitty gasped and came up with the quickest excuse she could think of. "Me apologies! Occupied in here!"

"Oh, sorry!" a woman's voice said from outside the restroom, "I'll just use the family restroom!"

Kitty sighed, looking at her hands. "Oh, this is horrible. I can't go out there looking like this. This is the worst date ever!" She literally looked ready to cry, but she wasn't letting her girly side take over. Taking a deep breath, she got a hold of herself. "No, don't get emotional. Maybe all I need to do is sit for a moment and think. Yeah, that's it. That's what I'll do."

Kitty knew the date was ruined by a long shot, but she wasn't getting help from anyone. That's something a damsel in distress would do and that's not who she was. She could get herself out of this mess.

As long as Kai doesn't find out about it, everything would be fine. What could possibly go wrong?

**NEXT SCENE:**

Inside the riding attraction of the Haunted Temple, Lloyd and Zelda were riding in the first car up front. Now they were regretting even getting on the ride. Everything on it was so cheesy that they laughed the entire time.

They saw nothing but lazy made vampires, fake skeletons, and zombie shadows walking by. Nothing scary at all.

Zelda laughed. "Now I will admit that this ride is horrible."

"I know, right?" Lloyd said, "It's always been stupid."

A man behind them laughed, pointing beside him. "Hey, look at how stupid those guys are."

Lloyd and Zelda looked, but instead of laughing, for the first time throughout the whole ride, they gasped in horror. They spotted a group of Venomari digging around with shovels. The snakes turned around and prepared themselves as they began to spray out venom.

"Oh, no!" Lloyd shouted, "Everyone cover your eyes!"

Lloyd and Zelda were quick to act and so were some of the other people, but a few weren't so lucky. They began screaming and crying out in fear. Attractions that were meant to look cheesy probably looked pretty darn scary now.

Lloyd looked around and found an emergency brake, grateful that the ride even had one. Pulling it, he was able to immediately stop the ride. "Everyone get off!"

They did as Lloyd said and rushed out of the Haunted Temple. The few people who were hit with Venomari venom had to be led out by other people.

Zelda grabbed her sword out of her backpack while Lloyd was hiding behind a pole, suiting up in his green ninja gi. "Want some help?"

Lloyd nodded, pulling his hood over his head. "Sure thing."

The two jumped out from behind their hiding spot, jumping in to ward off the Venomari warriors.

**NEXT SCENE:**

Outside the Haunted Temple ride, Nya, Carol and Pixal were wondering where the Serpentine were. Pretty much the entire park was outdoors. Where could they possibly be?

"I don't understand," Nya said, "Where are the slither heads?"

All the riders from the Haunted Temple attraction ran out screaming in fear. The trio of ninja were alert right away.

"Why is everyone running away from in there?" Carol asked, "That ride was never scary."

"I can see the green venom coloring some of the civilians eyes," Pixal said, "The Venomari are inside."

Carol gasped. "Oh, my gosh. Do you think we should get Kitty?"

"No," Nya said, "We made a promise that we wouldn't disturb her while she's out with Kai. I think we can handle this ourselves. Come on." They rushed over to the attraction, running straight through the crowd. "Excuse us! Pardon us! Coming through!"

"We'll take care of things from here!" Carol called out.

"Our apologies for bumping into you all," Pixal said, "But we must pass by to complete important ninja business. Thank you."

Hey, heroes have to be polite when fighting crime. That's what's called respect.

**NEXT SCENE:**

Back over at the restaurant, Kai was still sitting at the booth seat waiting for Kitty. She was still locked up in the restroom and had been gone for the last fifteen minutes. It was starting to worry him.

Kai received an alert through his communicator, stating that snakes were in the park. Knowing that he would have to leave without telling Kitty, Kai sighed. "Sorry, Kitty. When a hero's been called, they've gotta answer it." He turned off the noise from his communicator, got up from the booth and ran out of the restaurant.

But Kitty was only concerned about how she was gonna hide herself from Kai. She knew she needed the anti-venom, but the only way to get it was from the Fangpyre staff. And she would get it and change herself back. But first she had to keep away from Kai in order to do that.

She had racked her brain for all sorts of ideas she could use. There were no windows in the restroom, she couldn't hide herself without Kai noticing and, well, that's all she came up with. In the end, Kitty gave herself no choice. She would have to tell Kai.

"Well, look on the bright side," Kitty told herself in the mirror, "You don't look as bad as you think. Kai will probably understand. All you have to do is go out there and tell him the truth. Be honest with him. And also tell him that you have everything under control and you can solve this problem yourself. You don't need help. You ain't a damsel in distress. You are a strong woman who can take care of herself." Then she heard the sound of cloth ripping. She turned around and gasped when she sees a tail on her backside. "Oh, no! I have a tail!" Then she calmed herself by taking a few deep breaths. "It's okay. Don't worry. I'm sure lots of boys like girls with tails. After all, they read comic books about all kinds of creatures that have tails. This shouldn't be any different."

But Kitty decided she wasn't taking any chances. Searching through her backpack, she removed a green head scarf, a pair of sunglasses, and her spare sweater. She used the head scarf to tie around the lower part of her face and tied the sweater around her waist to hide the tail. She placed the sunglasses over her eyes and, taking a deep breath, unlocked the restroom door and walked out slowly.

When she returned to the dining area, she saw that the booth on Kai's side was empty. "He left?"

"Oh, are you talking about a young man with spiky hair and wearing a red jacket?" said an older woman walking up behind her, "I saw him leaving just a moment ago. Just rushed off like he was in a hurry to get somewhere."

Kitty sighed. "I don't blame him. I best go see if I can't find him." She rushes out of the restaurant, hoping Kai hasn't ran off too far.

Thankfully, Kai was still in the park, but he was hiding beside the restaurant building as he began suiting up in his samurai attire. He uses the jet pack to fly over to the Serpentine's location.

Let's hope he's not too late and let's pray the ninja will stop them.

**NEXT SCENE:**

Inside the Haunted Temple, Pythor and various other warrior snakes were digging all over the place when Scalina finally collided metal with metal. Bending over, she used her hands to brush the dirt away and gasped in excitement.

"Pythor, my love! I have found it!"

Pythor slithered up to her and grinned. He picked up the first out of four of the fang blades. "Yes! The first fang blade is ours!"

But before any of them could celebrate, a blast of water hit Scalina in the face. They looked to see Nya, Pixal and Carol standing in front of the snakes, with Nya holding out her fans as water sprayed out of them.

"Okay, Pythor, drop the fang blade and no one gets hurt," Nya said.

"Uh, Nya, I know this isn't the best time to judge you, but I have to admit that was not the best phrase for you," Carol said.

"What are you talking about?"

"Well, there are plenty of phrases that are perfect for a water ninja. I know a few. You could say something like 'time to drown' or 'time to crash a tsunami on you.' You know, stuff like that."

"Catch phrases are hard to come up with these days. If you're so good at them, you lead next time."

"Okay, I will."

Pythor sighs. "Foolish ninja." He throws a katana at them.

Nya gasped as she and the others duck down to prevent their heads from getting chopped off. "Oh, it's on!"

Nya and Pythor clashed swords with one another. Before it became an all out brawl, they saw something green pass by them. This something was actually someone. It was Lloyd without his hood on and wearing the green ninja gi.

"Lloyd?!" the ninja said in shock.

Pythor chuckled. "It seems we have discovered the mysterious green ninja."

"No, stop!" Running up was Zelda, panting. "Leave him alone!"

"Allow me to settle this," Pixal said, "Watch and learn, everyone." Closing her eyes, Pixal began to glow a light timberwolf color. She planned to use her true potential to hold the snakes in place, but she didn't have complete control of it and ended up getting trapped in a wire of tree branches. So did Nya and Carol. Pixal chuckled nervously. "My apologies."

The Serpentine laugh at the ninja's foolish attempt to defeat them, but as they were making their way out, the fang blade was magnetically stolen from Pythor's grasp. It ended up in the hands of the samurai.

"Stop him!" Pythor shouted. The rest of the warriors followed in pursuit.

Kai flew through the skies, the fang blade in his possession. But just before he could celebrate his victory, he realized the left side of his jet pack had been damaged.

"Uh, oh," Kai said through the voice changing system. He ends up falling to the ground. The snakes continue to chase after him, forcing Kai to run on foot. A couple of warriors had began tackling him to the ground and finally held him in place.

Pythor slithered up to him, Scalina right behind him. He grinned while taking back the fang blade. "Finally, the mystery man is revealed." He removes Kai's helmet and everyone gasped, recognizing who he is. "I had a feeling it was someone close to the ninja. Who's gonna save you now?"

Kai gulped. He did not like how this was going to end.

**NEXT SCENE:**

Back at the Haunted Temple, the remaining three ninja were being unbounded from their twisty branch trap by Zelda and Lloyd. Once they were free, they surrounded the revealed green ninja.

"I can't believe that all this time you were the green ninja!" Carol shouted.

"How could you keep something like this a secret?" Pixal asked.

"It's bad enough knowing that Kai is the samurai, but finding out that you are actually an elemental ninja is even crazier than that!" Nya yelled.

"Kai is the mysterious samurai?" Carol asked.

Nya groaned. "Can't keep a secret to save my life. But you all deserve to know."

"Well, Zelda should have told us that Lloyd was the green ninja," Carol said.

"I was sworn to secrecy," Zelda said, "Lloyd told me he would tell everyone when the time was right."

"And when would that be?" Nya asked, crossing her arms, "Fifty years from now?"

"Girls, this is no time to argue," Lloyd said.

"He's right," Pixal said, "We must go after Pythor to make sure he does not retrieve the fang blade from the samurai."

"Then let's go," Carol said, "But this conversation is not over."

Lloyd sighed, placing his hood back over his head. Whether they get the fang blade or not, this would never be over for him.

But secrets can't be kept forever.

**NEXT SCENE:**

Meanwhile, Kitty is hiding in the shadows while trying to find Kai. She's even hoping to find the leader of the Fangpyre so she could take his staff long enough to get the anti-venom, but she had a big feeling that won't happen. Her best bet was to find Kai to make sure he was okay. Not that she wanted his help. She can help herself. She's no damsel in distress.

But a small part of her was saying that she needed help. That sometimes going to other people and asking for aid wasn't a bad thing. She shook that thought away quickly and continued her search for Kai.

"Kai!" Kitty called out, "Kai? Where did he go?" She heard laughter going on in front of her and sees the Serpentine gathered around the roller coaster entrance. "Hey! Stop right there!" She quickly removes her bow and arrows, pointing them at the snakes. Her sweater around her waist moves aside some to reveal the snake tail behind her, causing the warriors to double over in laughter.

Pythor chuckled. "Oh, what happened? Snake bite your tongue?" This made the snakes laugh again.

But Kitty didn't have time to feel embarrassed. She finally found who she was looking for, but he was tied up with rope sitting in the roller coaster train and calling out for help.

"Kitty, I could use a little help here!" Kai called out.

"Let's begin the fun, shall we?" Pythor said.

"Can I turn it on?" Scalina asked.

"Whatever you want, my dearest."

Scalina turned the knob to start the ride. "Have fun!"

"Later, alligator. Let's go, everyone." Taking Scalina's hand in his, Pythor and his warriors slithered out of the park with the fang blade.

Kitty would've gone after Pythor to take the fang blade, but Kai was more important at the moment. Before the roller coaster train started uphill, she climbed in beside Kai. "Kai, are you alright?"

"I'll be fine once we're off this thing," Kai said, "Why are you wearing all that? Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong." Kitty shook her head. "I should be asking you where you went, but now is not the time. Hold on. Let me untie you."

"You know how to untie a knot?"

"I've had to untie knots off the mast ropes hundreds of times. This is no different." Kitty began untying Kai from the rope bounds.

"Well, I guess being raised on the seas has its advantages. I learned to untie knots in Samurai Scouts."

"You were in Samurai Scouts? Wish I could've been in scouts, but I didn't live upon land." She finally loosened the knot and freed Kai. "There you go."

Kai decided to take the moment to snatch off Kitty's sunglasses and scarf, gasping in concern and fear. "What happened? Were you bit? Why were you trying to hide this?"

"I didn't want to, but I didn't want you to worry. I had no plans on ruining the date."

"Ruining the date actually sounded a lot better than you turning into a snake. I could've helped you."

"That's the problem. I don't want help from anyone. I'm used to helping people, not people helping me. I don't want people to see me weak. I try me best not act all girly and I don't want people seeing me wearing cute clothes because I feel silly wearing them, but lately I've actually liked it and I don't want to. I don't want to be a damsel in distress. Now I look like a monster, you probably hate me by now and it's all me fault that we're in this mess."

"What?" Kai pauses, then gives a frightened look. "Uh, oh. You might wanna hold on."

Kitty gasped. "Oh, we're doomed."

By the time the roller coaster train went on the top of the hill, it went down faster than the speed of sound. That's when Kai noticed a ring of fire and broken tracks at the end of the ride.

"We need to get off this thing!" Kai shouted.

"Oh, I don't know what to do," Kitty said, "I don't want to do this, but we need the samurai. Samurai! Help! Help! Samurai! Oh, where is he when you need him?"

"Kitty, I don't think the samurai is coming."

"Why wouldn't he? He always comes when someone's in danger. And right now we need him."

Kai sighed. "I know this might not be the best time, but I haven't been completely honest with you. I think you have a right to know."

"What is it?"

"Kitty, I'm... I'm the samurai!"

Kitty gasped and sat there for a moment staring at Kai until finally she blinked out of her daze and said, "You're the ssssamurai?!" The one guy that found a place in her heart, the one guy she dreams of spending the rest of her life with, was actually the mysterious samurai.

But Kai wasn't worried about what Kitty was thinking. "Uh, not trying to scare you or anything, but we're sort of running out of track."

"What do you expect me to do? I can't get us out of this mess. I can't even change meself back into a human. I just didn't want you to see me so weak and scared. But I admit it. I admit it all! I like wearing cute clothing and cuddling stuffed animals and wearing make-up and-" Before Kitty could continue on with her ranting, Kai kissed her fully on the lips.

Okay, so it wasn't the fairy tale kiss Kitty was expecting, but it was honestly the greatest kiss she ever had. Her heart rate was accelerating after three seconds, but it only took the speed of sound for the scales to disappear off her body to return her to normal.

"Kitty, you're not changing anymore," Kai said, "You've return back to normal."

"Well, it's just like you said," Kitty said, "You must have raised me heart rate."

Kai sighed. "Kitty, if anything horrible were to happen at this very moment, I want you to know that you don't have to wear perfume or hide from me because you're too afraid to show your inner beauty. I wouldn't care if you were wearing a kimono or even a hoodie, no matter what, you still look beautiful. So you show a bit of a girly side. That doesn't matter. What matters is your strong and brave and you don't have to be afraid to ask for help. That doesn't make you a damsel in distress. It proves that I'll do anything for you. And whatever happens next, just remember this: You will change, but your heart never will."

Kitty smiled, realizing that becoming a true woman wasn't changing her mentally. Becoming a true woman made her stronger. And she wasn't afraid anymore. Just by those thoughts, she began to glow a bright jungle green, and her bow and arrows surged with even more power than before.

"What's happening?" Kai asked.

"Me true potential," Kitty said.

Kitty turns into the wild, floating in the air, wrapping vines around the train to cease it from continuing forward. She also created a wild river waterfall to put out the ring of fire. The moment ended as Kitty laid against the train, exhausted and out of breath. But she was glad to have kept Kai safe.

After the two of them were taken off the ride, Kitty and Kai met up with the remaining ninja, Zelda and Lloyd at the park entrance. They were all surprised and shocked to find out that two of their own allies were the mysterious samurai and green ninja.

"You really had me fooled," Pixal said, "I would never have guessed that the two of you were the samurai and the green ninja."

"I seriously wished I had a brother like one of you," Carol said, "Instead I ended up with three weird ones."

"Technically, I was the first one to discover Kai's secret," Nya said, "And Zelda was the first to know Lloyd's secret. And didn't we agree whoever we thought was the best would naturally be the Yellow Ninja? You know, the one who is to defeat Queen Valderra in the battle between good and evil?"

"I thought that bet was about whoever found out our secrets first could make everyone else do that person's bidding for a month," Lloyd said.

"It was," Kitty told him, "But we called off the bet."

"We all basically gave up after believing that we would never win," Carol said.

"And I remember erasing the conversation from my database," Pixal said.

Nya sighed. "I suppose bets aren't allowed when you're the heroes of Ninjago."

"You know, I've learned two important lessons here today," Kitty said.

"Oh, yeah?" Kai asked, "What might those be?"

"The first lesson involves me true potential. I learned that I may be drawing more closer to me feminine personality, but I realized that I'm becoming stronger if I just let it show. I'll admit that I'm into girly stuff if that makes you all happy."

"I'll be happy when you start wearing your kimono suit out in the open," Nya said, "So what's the second lesson?"

"Pythor and his little snake crew now have the first fang blade," Kitty said, "He may have one, but we'll make sure to take one as well."

"And we are getting stronger each day," Pixal said, "One day, we will all reach our true potential and Pythor will be stopped."

"And we learned all of this without our teachers," Carol said, "Who knows? One day we'll be as wise as them. It's amazing how far four ninja can go." Kai and Lloyd cleared their throats. Carol chuckles nervously. "And including an all powerful green ninja and a samurai."

"I'm wondering what Master Wu is doing right now," Nya said.

Oh, that's what everyone is thinking right now.

**NEXT SCENE:**

Inside the Realm of Madness, Wu and Valderra have finally made it to the base of the mountain. Wu looked upon it, a little frightened at the sight. Valderra only had a straight face. She has seen it many times before, but never has she ever ascended it.

"Here we are," Valderra said, "The Mountain of Madness."

"Are you sure this is the only way back to Ninjago?" Wu asked.

"We must make our way to the top. This is only the beginning. The worst is yet to come."

They began to ascend on the mountain.

The worst will come.

It always does...

* * *

**IT'S OFFICIAL. **

**KAI AND KITTY ARE OFFICIALLY AN ITEM.**

**IT'S ABOUT TIME KITTY REALIZE THAT SHE'S ONLY STRONGER BY BEING JUST A LITTLE GIRLY EVERY NOW AND AGAIN. MAYBE NOW SHE'LL LIGHTEN UP. LET'S HOPE SO.**

**I HAD PLANS TO UPDATE THIS YESTERDAY, BUT OTHER THINGS GOT IN THE WAY AND I DIDN'T GET THE CHANCE. BUT I'M DOING IT NOW. JUST GIVING YOU GUYS SOMETHING TO DO WHILE YOUR BORED.**

**HOPE EVERYONE'S STAYING HEALTHY OUT THERE. JUST SPOT THE DIFFERENCE OR TELL ME YOUR FAVORITE PART IN THE REVIEWS.**

**ALSO, I PLAN TO CHANGE MY USERNAME TOMORROW. IT'S MY CHOICE AND I'M GONNA GO FOR IT.**

**THANKS TO ALL THE READERS AND REVIEWERS. YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME!**

**HOPE THIS CHAPTER WAS GOOD. I'LL SAY THIS, THOUGH. I HAVE A LOT PLANNED FOR THE NEXT TWO CHAPTERS AND THEY'RE GONNA BE MY FAVORITE.**

**PLEASE REVIEW.**


	17. S1 E17: Carol's Fame and Life

S1 E17

CAROL'S FAME AND LIFE

The Desert Pyramid. Located in the Sea of Sands and known as the resting place for one of the four fang blades. At that very moment, the Serpentine were slithering inside the pyramid, looking for the second fang blade. Just a couple of days ago they found the first one. Now there were three more to find. And they'll do anything to keep the ninja from getting to it first.

Pythor continued forward with Scalina beside him. He suddenly stopped, using his arm to stop his wife from going any further. This caused Skales to bump into the two of them.

"What is the matter?" Skales asked, "Why must we stop if the next fang blade is just ahead of us?"

Pythor shook his head and, using his staff, he tapped it on the floor, causing a piece to crumble beneath them. "What good is unlocking the Great Devourer with the four fang blades if we're not around to see it?"

"How are we to retrieve the next one if we can't make it through this?" Selma asked, "Oh, I wish I won the fight in the slither pit. Then that girl could've done all the dirty work for us."

Pythor sighed. "Oh, I wish I took her when she carried the Map of Den. But we all make mistakes."

"We must get the second fang blade," Skales reminded them, "But who will volunteer to go through those booby traps?"

Nobody spoke up for a minute or two. Scalina breathed in a breath and said, "I'll do it."

Pythor gasped. "No, my love! I won't allow it!"

"My dear Pythor, I want to show our people that their leader will do anything if we are to become the true rulers of the land. Let me prove it by retrieving the fang blade. We must sometimes take risks in order to succeed."

Pythor hesitated a moment, then gave out a sigh. "Alright, but don't expect me to let you take risks all the time. Just be careful."

"I will."

Pythor carefully leads her to the ledge. "Do step lightly."

Scalina carefully and slowly makes it across by staying close to the edge. She steps over to what she senses is solid ground. She carefully walks down the dark halls of the pyramid, looking carefully at where traps may be hidden. So far, she noticed a cobblestone step that pressed down to release arrows and a wall lever that could release a spiky ceiling to start lowering down. She gave a smirk, thinking how easy this was.

_I've been through worse traps,_ she thought, _Going through these is a piece of cake._

But she clearly regretted those thoughts when her feet came in contact with a trip wire, causing the steps to turn into a slide. She slid down all the way to the bottom, where the only source of light were glow worms that illuminated the entire room. She looked in front of her to find a pedestal, but she was disappointed to find there was nothing lying inside.

"How can this be?" Scalina shouted, "The fang blade is gone!"

Her shouts echoed throughout the entire pyramid, with Pythor hearing every word. And he was just as angry. "What?! It's gone?!"

"The ninja must have already found it before we did," Selma said.

"I doubt they got through all this," Pythor said, "There's a tunnel to get out of there on the other side. We will meet Scalina there." He turned his head in the other direction. "Did you hear that, my love? There's a tunnel behind the pedestal! Go through there and we'll meet you on the other side!"

"I'm already out!" Scalina called out, "I'm waiting for you by the entrance!"

Pythor chuckled gleefully. "She's a fast one."

So the question remains. Where is the second fang blade?

**NEXT SCENE**:

On the Destiny's Bounty, the ninja and allies were busy trying to come up with ways of how to keep Pythor from continuing the quest for the remaining three fang blades. Now that they had the first one, they would stop at nothing to keep Pythor from taking the other three. Lloyd had pulled up a holographic image of one of the blades, wondering where the remaining ones were.

"Unfortunately, the Serpentine now have the first fang blade," Kai said, "There are still three more and we only plan on taking one to stop Pythor. If we had the map, it would be quicker to find them, but we don't. So how are we gonna beat them before they get there?"

Kitty chuckled. "Okay, this is pretty much off topic, but I still can't get over the fact that you were the mysterious samurai. Is anyone else blown away like I am? I mean, how can you not be?"

Nya groaned. "We're over that. Can we move on? I'm starting to get a headache."

Kitty rolled her eyes. "What's got your anger levels rising?"

"I may have a theory," Pixal said, "It appears Nya's impatience is because she has not found inner peace and unlocked her full potential like you and I have, Kitty." She did so much as give a smirk.

"Very funny, Miss Android," Nya said, placing her hands on her hips, "Your little observation may be correct, but you're forgetting that Carol still hasn't found her true potential, either."

Carol gasped. "Yes! I got it!"

"What?! You've unlocked your true powers?! Ugh! I hate being left out!"

"No, not that. I figured out where I recognized the fang blade from. I have a picture of it." Carol runs out of the room.

Nya chuckled nervously. "Oh, is that all? Well, that's great. I just don't like being left out."

Carol returns with what looks to be a photo album in her hands. She sets it down on the table. "Here we go." She turns to the page with a picture of a trophy that also carried one of the fang blades.

"That's it right there," Kitty said.

"During my time at the Marty Oppenheimer School of Performing Arts, a lot of the students would team up and enter this big competition where every year the winner gets the Blade Cup. It was originally held at the school, but after I left, they were doing a lot of remodeling to the auditorium so they started holding it in Ninjago City. But from what I've heard, because of all the issues with the snakes, it'll be held in Chitow City."

"That's all the way out in East Ninjago," Zelda said, "Where will all the contestants lodge at? Chitow City is the second biggest city in the world."

"Well, lucky for us, I got some news," Carol said in a sing song voice, "I just got a letter from my family this morning and they told me all the contestants would be staying in Spaintown Village, which is thirty minutes away from the city. My family happens to live on some farmland outside the village."

"What inspired you to attend some fine arts school?" Kitty asked.

"Because I love to sing and act and draw and I can play a few instruments. I've known to dance from time to time. In fact, dancing actually helped me and an old friend of mine win the Blade Cup my first year attending the school."

"What?!" Everyone in the room was shocked.

Carol chuckled nervously. "Yes, it's true. I have a picture to prove it." She turns to a page in her photo album and shows them a picture of her and a boy with raven black hair holding up the Blade Cup. "There's your proof."

"Who's the guy with you?" Nya asked.

"That's Cole Brookstone," Carol said, "We were assigned to be partners in the show for our choreography class. He and I didn't know each other until we started dancing together. Ever since then we became best friends. He graduated from the fine arts program that same year. I haven't heard from him since."

"So how in the world did the fang blade become a trophy?" Lloyd asked.

"Well, from what I've learned, the Blade Cup was made by this guy who collected priceless artifacts. His name was something like Dutch, was it? No, Clutch. Clutch Powers! Anyway, it gets passed on to each year's winner. Since Cole didn't attend the school the next year, I passed it down to my best friend, Sharon. She won for her violin performance."

"Who has it now?" Pixal asked.

Carol shrugged. "Not sure. I graduated when I was thirteen. I guess we won't know until the competition."

"Why do you say that?" Kitty asked.

"Well, I looked up to see if there were still some available spots opened up and luckily they had plenty since a lot of people that attend the Marty Oppenheimer were not planning to travel so far just to be in the show," Carol said, "So in order for us to get the fang blade without the Serpentine knowing, I signed us up to be in the talent show."

"You did what?!" Nya shouted.

"Oh, no," Kai groaned, placing a hand over his eyes.

"You signed us up for a talent show without consulting us first?"

"It's the only way we can get the fang blade," Carol said, "In order to keep it out of Pythor's grasp, we have to win it fair and square. We can't just steal it."

"I have to agree," Kitty said.

"Well, I don't," Nya said, "And I don't think you have everything planned at all for this. What will we do for the show? Where are we gonna stay? You never plan for these kind of things so we might as well not do it at all."

"Don't worry," Carol said, "I have a routine written up and prepared and I'll be happy to explain it to you all. As for where we'll be staying, there's some empty fields not too far away from my home. We'll stay there in the bounty until the show. And you'll finally get to meet my family."

Nya rolled her eyes. "Wonderful."

"So when is this talent show?" Kitty asked.

"This Saturday," Carol said.

"That is four days away," Pixal said, "Will we be ready by then?"

"We will be. If we're going to have any chance at getting that fang blade before the Serpentine do, then we need to get to work and start practicing."

"I'll set the course for East Ninjago tonight," Kai said, "We should be there by tomorrow morning."

Carol squealed in excitement. "Oh, this is going to be so amazing!"

Let's hope so. Please let amazing be the final word for this.

**NEXT SCENE:**

In the Realm of Madness, Wu and Valderra are climbing up on a mountain, making their way to a portal that will get them straight to Ninjago. But for two people who have aged after many years, traveling can sometimes be a strain.

Valderra took a moment to catch her breath. Wu did the same, offering her water from his canteen. "Drink this. You'll need it to keep your strength."

The dark queen took a swig out of the canteen and handed it back to Wu. "I apologize for climbing up so many steps. I had hoped to reach the summit before the moon rose. The Craglings never miss a midnight snack."

Wu's eyes almost popped out of his head. "Craglings? What is this place? There's no such thing in Ninjago."

Valderra sighed. "They're a horde unlike any you've seen. Not all places exist to be found, Wu. Sometimes, one must revel in the shadows to truly see the light. And I have traveled through darkness for as long as I remember." She stood up. "Let's continue. Maybe we might get lucky and miss the Cragling gathering."

Before they continued forward, a formation of rocks begin to gather in a pile and the ground started shaking. Monsters made of the earth's companions rose from their resting places, coming together to battle the two humans.

"Are these the Craglings?" Wu asked.

"Yes," Valderra said, "Hit them in the center of their rock bellies. It's the only way to truly destroy them."

Wu and Valderra battled the rock monsters, destroying as many as they could with their weapons. Wu was pinned down by one bigger than the others, but Valderra swooped in and destroyed it.

Wu stood up. "Thank you."

"Anything for an old friend," Valderra said, "How about we do things just like old times."

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

The two spun around and performed spinjitzu, battling against the Craglings as more came to join in the fight.

Who will win?

**NEXT SCENE:**

Time may not pass very long in the Realm of Madness, but in Ninjago, a day has gone by. The Destiny's Bounty flew through the air in the territory of East Ninjago. The original birthplace of Ninjago. Before the First Spinjitzu Master split the land in two, life in Ninjago prosper before its true creation. And East Ninjago told the story of how the country came to be.

At that very moment, the bounty made it above Spaintown Village where they would search for the fields that were close by Carol's home.

"We are now flying above Spaintown Village!" Kai announced, "Nice place to settle before a big talent show."

On the lower deck, the ninja and Zelda were practicing for the show. Nya actually got out of it by saying she had to clean the weapons, but everyone knew she was trying to get out of being in the show. Zelda offered to take her place for the time being.

"Okay, so let's go over the parts each of you will be singing," Carol explained, "Kitty, you will sing lines three and four of verse one. Pixal, you'll be singing lines five and six of verse one. Zelda, you'll have to sing lines seven and eight of verse one and lines one and two of verse two. Then the rest of us will sing lines three and four of verse two. Remember, we need to be on key. And the best way to stay on key is by doing vocal exercises."

"Vocal what?" Kitty gave a confused look.

"Vocal exercises. Going over the basics of singing before you actually start putting your energy into a real song. I'll show you how it goes." Carol cleared her throat and began. "Do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti, do. Now you try."

The rest of the group counted to three and began singing the exercise notes together. Carol could tell each of them had potential. Zelda had a beautiful voice, Kitty was wonderful when it came to singing, and Pixal had just an average singing voice that was amazing nonetheless. But she couldn't help feeling that something was missing.

"How was that?" Kitty asked.

"It was good," Carol said, "Just a couple of notes. Zelda, I think you could use just a little more energy. Kitty, you are a natural, but I think we could use something that brings out your voice even more. Pixal, your voice is like a machine. Don't change anything. Okay, let's try it again."

"Hold on." Kitty walked over to the bench, grabbed her violin and went back over to the group. "Okay, let's do it."

The girls once again did the vocal exercises. This time the flaws were fixed. Zelda was enjoying herself more while singing, Kitty's voice was perfect with her violin playing, and Pixal didn't change a thing. Carol smiled, yet she still had that missing feeling.

"Did we do better?" Pixal asked.

Carol nodded. "Yes, that was a lot better this time. But I feel like there's something missing."

"You mean someone," Kitty said, "Let's face it. Without Nya, it just isn't perfect."

"I don't know." Everyone turned to see Nya coming up to them with Jay right behind her. "I thought you girls were doing great without me."

"How come you don't wanna join in to win the show?" Jay asked.

"I don't have to have a reason. I'm just not interested."

"Probably because you're stage fright," Kitty said.

"I am not!" Nya yelled.

"Looks like rehearsal's gonna have to wait," Kai announced all over the bounty, "We've arrived at the fields."

Carol gasped. "We're here! Come on! I have the best idea for a surprise entrance!"

Kitty rolled her eyes. "Let's hope Theodore didn't give her the idea."

A few minutes later, the dragons flew by, letting their mistresses and allies hop on to take them to Carol's home. But they still had no idea why they needed to fly their dragons when they could've walked there.

"Can you tell us why we flew our dragons instead of going on foot?" Nya asked.

Carol giggled. "You'll see!"

They continued forward until they saw a sight beautiful beyond comparison.

Sitting in the middle of a large farmland sat a farm house that looked bigger than an average sized home. On the left side was a giant barn with animals inside and out going about their day. The fields were filled with trees growing apples, lemons and oranges. Bushes were going berries and vines of grapes. The gardens grew all sorts of vegetables and various fruits. It was a pretty big place to live and work in agriculture.

"Whoa," Monica said, "This place is huge."

"The view is beautiful from up here," Carol said, "That's why I decided we should fly the dragons. But enough of that. Let's meet some people that I've been waiting for you to meet."

The dragon's landed in the only empty space of fields. As everyone hopped off the large reptiles, they noticed an older woman who looked to be in her mid-fifties come outside with three younger men in tow.

The woman had dark gray hair that was fixed up in a braid. She wore a white sweater with red line designs and a black skirt. She walked with a wooden cane, but when she spotted Carol, the woman rushed up to embrace the animal sorcery ninja, showering her with kisses.

"_Oh, Carol," _the woman said_, "Ha pasado tanto tiempo. Te hemos extrañado mucho_

"_Qué bueno verte de nuevo, tía Rose,"_ Carol said, "_Me_ _gustaría que todos conocieran a mis amigos."_

The older woman walked beside Carol to meet everyone. "Hello, everyone. It is so wonderful to meet all of you. Carol has told us all about you in her letters. She even sent a photograph and wrote down who was who. So we know your names."

"Well, at least we won't have to waste time on introductions," Kitty said.

The woman chuckled. "Then allow me to introduce myself. I am Rose, Carol's aunt. And those three boys there are her brothers. Boys, come introduce yourselves to Carol's friends."

The younger men looked to be at least nineteen. All three had jet black hair and green eyes, since they were triplets, but none of them had the same looks of personality.

The boy standing to the left had his hair come down to his neck with bangs almost covering his eyes. He wore a black t-shirt and black pants and pretty much had a bored looking expression on his face. He didn't seem to be the happy type.

The boy in the middle had straight hair neatly comb and wore glasses. His shirt was red and the sleeves of the long sleeved shirt he wore underneath was blue. He also wore a pair of blue jeans. Judging by the calculator in his hand, he was the more intelligent of the group.

The boy on the right had hair that curled up just a bit and sat at the top of the neckline. He wore a brown jacket with a green shirt underneath and also had on brown pants. Judging by the way his fingers twitched together nervously and keeping his eyes down, he was considered the shy guy.

The triplet with the glasses extended his hand out. "Salutations. I'm Gregory, the middle triplet."

The triplet in black gave a wave. "Name's Stephen. I'm the oldest." He motioned his head to the shy triplet. "That's Joseph. He's the youngest. He won't talk much, especially to strangers."

"That is not true, _sobrino_," Rose said, "Just as long as he gets to know you, he'll be talking like there's no tomorrow. Isn't that right, Joseph?"

Joseph nodded. "Yes, _tía_ Rose."

Carol giggled. "It's just so wonderful to see you all again. I hope we didn't come at a bad time."

"Oh, not at all," Rose said, "In fact, you came at just the right moment. Spaintown is just filled with spirit. They're welcoming all the contestants for the talent show being held in Chitow City. I'm sure you're excited to see who wins the Blade Cup this year."

"Actually, _tía_ Rose, my friends and I are gonna be in the show. And we have a good reason. You see, the blade is actually a fang blade. The Serpentine are after it as well as the other three. So far they only have one, but if we win the Blade Cup, we can keep it away from them and prevent them from unleashing a creature called the Great Devourer."

Rose gasped. "_Oh, Dios mío_. Well, I'll leave you girls to it. Just as long as you girls win it fair and square, I see no problem with it. You must do whatever it takes to keep Ninjago safe."

"And we will." Carol embraced her aunt. "I wish I could spend every moment with you, but we have a lot to do."

"Oh, it's no trouble. Why don't you take your friends to Spaintown. Give them a tour. You remember the way, I'm sure."

"Yes, I remember. We'll be back by dinner."

"Have fun, my niece." Rose kissed Carol on the forehead before heading back inside the house. Her brothers hurried off to finish up some farm chores.

Kitty shook her head. "Did you have to tell them the plan?"

"Well, I didn't wanna lie." Carol took out Theodore and started doing his voice. "It's important to be honest, no matter what."

"So when do we get to meet your parents?" Nya asked.

Carol gave eyes that looked sad, but she shook it off and quickly put Theodore away. "I'll tell you about them later. Let's go visit Spaintown."

Brushing off the concern for now, everyone followed Carol down the trail that would lead to the village. Deep down, the animal sorcery ninja didn't really want to, but she had to be nice and pretend to be normal, no matter what.

Let's admit it. There's nothing normal about sweet Carol.

**NEXT SCENE:**

Over in the Sea of Sands, civilians who were surrounding the few buildings near the road started running away in fear. That's because two Serpentine, Selma and Scalina, were walking along, pretending not to notice the humans.

"I still can't believe you actually went through those traps," Selma said, "Tell me. Does your husband have nightmares of it?"

"No, but he does get a chill up his spine just thinking about it," Scalina said. Then she sighed. "I'm still angered over the fact that the fang blade was gone. Where could it be?"

Selma gasped. "Scalina, look!" She pointed at a poster advertising for the talent show in Chitow City.

"Please, Selma. I'm not interested in some singing competition."

"No, not the talent show. I'm talking about the trophy. Look what's in it."

Scalina examined the poster carefully, gasping when she saw the blade. "The fang blade! This is it!" She snatches the poster off the pole. "We must tell my husband at once!"

They both ran off to return to Ouroboros, excited to give good news.

It's official. The Serpentine know. Oh, let's hope they don't ruin the show.

**NEXT SCENE:**

Carol continued leading everyone upon the trail, bringing them to their destination.

"Here we are," Carol said, "Spaintown Village."

And boy was the town just an amazing sight to see.

Spaintown Village has always been the number one hot spot for tourists who go on their way to visit Chitow City. It was a festive town. The people who live and prosper in the village always made the guest feel welcome, from sitting in front of businesses singing old Spanish songs to cooking and selling delicious food in stores and restaurants, it was no wonder why the town was always crowded.

Which made it the perfect place to lodge talent show contestants.

"I say this place is the best vacation spot," Kitty said.

"As much as I love this village, I don't like to live in such a noisy place all the time," Carol said, "So we live outside the village in the fields where the only sounds you hear are the animals."

"What should we do first?" Pixal asked.

"We go and meet the competition. And I think I might know where they're all staying. Follow me."

As they walked by, the others began to notice that people around their age as well as younger children were glaring daggers at Carol and whispering to one another. But what was strange was that a lot of adults and older people were greeting Carol with heartwarming welcomes and commenting on what a lovely and lucky girl she was when they walked away. It was weird in both a good and bad way. But throughout the whole time, Carol pretended not to notice.

Nya thought it best to speak up. "Carol, have you noticed something... strange going on here?"

Carol quickly shook her head. "Nope. Hey, we're here."

The heroes walked inside a motel named The Wonderful Home. Since it was still around breakfast time, a lot of people were still in the dining area chowing down on the continental goodness. There was a large banner hooked above the doors of the dining room that said, "Welcome Ninjago Talent Contestants."

"This is some fancy place they've got," Monica said.

"Do you think some of your old friends from the Marty Oppenheimer will be present?" Pixal asked.

"Not sure," Carol said, "I probably won't recognize anyone."

"Hey, Carol!" A boy, wearing a blue shirt and black pants, called out to the purple lavender ninja, waving to her. "Do you remember me? It's me, Derek Stunner! We were in instrumental class together!"

"Oh, yeah! Good to see you!" The she leaned over to speak to Misako. "I don't remember him."

"Carol Dominez!" Everyone looked to see a man with graying black hair and a mustache wearing a brown suit and walking with a cane. Walking next to him was a woman with glasses and short curly black hair wearing a sky blue dress.

"Mr. and Mrs. Brookstone!" Carol rushed up to the older couple. "So wonderful to see you again!"

"It's been so long since Lou and I have seen you," Mrs. Brookstone said, "We heard you graduated from the Marty Oppenheimer. Such a huge success."

Carol giggled. "Thank you."

"I see you've got some friends there," Lou said, "So wonderful to meet you all. Lou Brookstone. I used to be head of the choir department at the Marty Oppenheimer. And this is my wife, Miriam."

"Hello," Miriam greeted everyone, "A pleasure meeting everyone. I used to be the dancing instructor at the school. But Lou and I are both retired and we've gone back to singing together part time for albums. Plus, we want to spend more time with our son Cole."

Carol gasped. "Is Cole here? How has he been? It's been a while since I last saw him."

"Cole has been wonderful," Lou said, "A success in the arts. He's now a full time pianist and he's going into acting."

"And, yes, he's here," Miriam said, "He's actually going to be one of the judges for the show."

"Oh, that's wonderful," Carol said, "Is he here right now?"

"I'm afraid not. He's in Chitow City right now auditioning for a part in a movie."

"Oh, well, I was hoping I could see him again."

"We will at the talent show," Zelda reminded her, "You mustn't forget that we've entered it."

"You're in the show?" Lou asked.

"Yes!" Carol exclaimed, "I haven't given up my dream on becoming a singer and I don't plan to. But I didn't want to do it alone so these four," she motioned to the remaining three ninja and Zelda, "are performing along with me. And we've got some big surprises to display."

"That's wonderful," Miriam said, "We can't wait to see it. Well, Lou and I need to head out. We'll see you at the show."

"Bye!" Carol waved them goodbye as the couple walked away.

"I suppose telling them our true plan is out of the question," Kitty said.

"The less civilians that know, the better," Carol said, "But close family is excluded from that. That's the reason why I told my family."

"So this Cole guy," Monica said, "The two of you won the Blade Cup together. Exactly how great was the dance?"

"You'll see. Now let's go. We still need to practice the routine. And this time, you're doing it with us, Nya."

"Uh, no way," Nya said, "Not gonna happen."

Carol sighed. "Nya, if you have stage fright, just tell us. We won't judge you."

"I don't have stage fright! I just refuse to do anything that involves being on a stage! End of discussion!" Nya stormed off from the group.

Everyone else just stood there, watching Nya run off. Carol wanted to tell Nya off. Stand up for herself and tell her that they can't do the show without her.

But standing up for herself just wasn't something Carol could do.

**NEXT SCENE:**

Later that same afternoon, Pythor and Skales entered Spaintown Village through the sewers, keeping themselves hidden underneath in order to avoid unwanted attention. When they received the news from their wives about the fang blade being used as a trophy for the talent show, they rushed down to the sewers and made their way to the hot stop where all the contestants were.

Skales smiled. "The fang blade is here. I can feel it."

"Calm yourself, Skales," Pythor said, "We cannot attract unwanted attention. This is a different area of Ninjago. We must remain in the shadows."

Skales gasped, pointing straight ahead. "Look! It's the ninja! They must've heard about the fang blade. There's no chance to take it now."

"Have patience, my friend. We're snakes, remember. They'll never see us coming." Pythor looks down at the poster, reading the fine print on the bottom. "Open auditions." This gave him an idea. "Skales, do you think our wives want to become stars?"

"Oh, I think I know what you're getting at."

"Then follow my lead. I have a plan."

The two slithered back inside the sewers, preparing themselves for their plan to steal the fang blade.

After all, what girl passes down the opportunity to show off her talent?

**NEXT SCENE:**

Back at the Realm of Madness, Valderra and Wu had just finished battling the last of the Craglings. Both were physically exhausted, and not just by their age. After a well deserved break, they continued their way to the vortex.

"The vortex back to Ninjago is just over that buff," Valderra said.

"I am glad to hear that," Wu said, "Ladies first."

"Allow me to be kind just this once, Wu. You may go first."

Wu smiled. "Though we live in two different worlds, I still see good in your heart, Valderra." He stood over the hole of the vortex.

Valderra chuckled in a sinister way. "Oh, Wu. You and I both know that the battle between our worlds is inevitable. You put too much trust in me." She pushes Wu down into the vortex.

But the old sensei grabbed the ledge before he could fall in. "But I came for your help to stop the Serpentine. Did you lead me here to destroy me?"

"See you on the other side." She pushes Wu down, hearing him scream as he falls through the vortex. She jumps in after him.

So here's the question.

Where did they go?...

* * *

**Spanish to English translations:**

**·****Oh, Carol, ha pasado tanto tiempo. Te hemos extrañado mucho:**

**"****Oh, Carol, it has been so long. We have missed you so much."**

**·Qué bueno verte de nuevo, tía Rose. Me gustaría que todos conocieran a mis amigos:**

**"It's so good to see you again, Aunt Rose. I'd like for you all to meet my friends."**

**·sobrino:**

** nephew**

**·tía: **

**Aunt**

**·oh Dios mío: **

**Oh, my goodness**

* * *

**HEY, GUYS. SO HOW WAS IT? IF YOU LOVED THIS CHAPTER, YOU'LL LOVE THE NEXT ONE.**

**AND YES! I DID IT! MY FANFICTION NAME HAS OFFICIALLY CHANGED.**

**I AM NOW The Mistress of Ninjago22.**

**SO INCREDIBLE!**

**OKAY, GUYS. THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL HAVE A SONG AND I ALREADY HAVE A COUPLE THAT I'M THINKING OF THAT MIGHT BE A GREAT FIT FOR THE SHOW. BUT IF YOU GUYS HAVE ANY SONGS YOU THINK WILL WORK, PLEASE LET ME KNOW IN THE REVIEWS.**

**OKAY, GUYS, DON'T FORGET TO SPOT THE DIFFERENCE OR TELL ME YOUR FAVORITE PART IN THE REVIEWS. **

**GIVING A SHOUT OUT TO ALL THE READERS AND REVIEWERS OUT THERE. LOVE HEARING FROM YOU GUYS.**

**HOPE EVERYONE'S STAYING HEALTHY. I'M PRAYING EVERY DAY THAT THINGS WILL GET BETTER. WE WILL GET THROUGH THIS, GUYS.**

**HOPE THIS CHAPTER WAS GOOD.**

**PLEASE REVIEW.**


	18. S1 E18: The Harmony of Life

S1 E18

THE HARMONY OF LIFE

Throughout the last couple of days, the ninja and Zelda have been rehearsing for the talent show. Nya still refused to join in, which kept making Carol frustrated and arguing with the water ninja that she needed to be a part of the show. The purple lavender ninja became so tedious about making a good impression and trying to make everything perfect so they could win the Blade Cup. This only made everyone worry about her.

And they had every right to be worried.

Carol still refused to talk about her parents and she still pretended that she was okay after they went to tour around the village. She still refused to go there, though.

It's official.

Carol was definitely keeping secrets.

And she was the one who said that honesty is always the best policy.

That very morning, all the contestants were taken to Chitow City to prepare themselves for the show tonight. Everyone on the bounty were allowed to go inside and wait in the cafeteria until the show while the ninja and Zelda were backstage in the rehearsal room.

This time, they were doing a full dress rehearsal, each wearing a dress matching their signature colors, with Zelda in yellow. They began practicing the song from beginning to end at least twice. Not wanting to strain their voices, Carol gave them a well deserved break.

"Okay, girls, I have a feeling that we're ready for this," Carol said, "Just make sure you study the lyrics and we'll practice one more time before the show starts. Kitty, make sure your violin is tuned. Pixal, remember not to change a thing. Zelda, don't forget to put some energy in your swan lake moves. Nya, remember to..." She remembered that Nya wasn't with them and sighed. "Oh, yeah. She's not here."

"Typical Nya," Kitty said, "She was gonna do whatever it takes to stay out of the show. No matter how much you tell her we can't do it without her."

Zelda gasped. "That just gave me an idea."

"What?" Carol asked.

"Why don't you just go to Nya and tell her that we don't need her."

"But we do. And she doesn't want to."

Zelda shook her head. "Here me out. If we tell Nya that we don't need her, then she'll feel horrible about leaving us in the dust and she'll change her mind and join us. And then we can do the show with absolute perfection."

Carol gave it some thought and nodded. "It just might work. I'll be back." She rushed out of the rehearsal room.

She ran through the auditorium, wondering where the cafeteria was in such a huge theater. When she got outside into the hallway, she saw a man hanging up flyers on a bulletin board. Maybe he knew where the cafeteria was.

Carol walked up to him. "Excuse me, sir. Do you know where I can find the cafeteria?"

"Oh, sure," the man said.

_That voice,_ Carol thought to herself, _It sounds so familiar._

That's when the man turned around and stared at Carol for a minute before giving her a smile. "Carol Dominez?"

"Cole Brookstone?" Carol asked.

"Wow, it's been a long time since I last saw you." Cole walked up to her, embracing her in a friendly hug. Carol returned it.

"Yeah, it's been a while." Once the two came apart from their hug, Carol got a good look at Cole.

He was wearing a brown sweater vest with a white shirt and tie underneath while also having on a pair of black dress pants and polished black shoes. His jet black hair had actually grown out and stopped right by his Adam's apple. His pair of brown eyes couldn't stop looking into her blue orbs.

Cole rubbed the back of his neck. "So how have you been?"

"I've been great," Carol said, "You?"

"The same. I heard you graduated from the Marty Oppenheimer."

"Yeah. I heard you were going into acting. I bumped into your parents the other day and they told me you were auditioning for a part in a movie."

"Oh, yeah. I can't give out any details of it because of spoiler reasons, but I can say that I hope I get the part. It's an action movie."

"Oh, cool. I'm glad to hear that. So I also heard that you're one of the judges for the show."

"Sure am. What about you?"

"I'm actually in the show. My friends and I are gonna be performing a song."

"Cool. Can't wait to judge it." Cole slapped his forehead. "Sorry, I forgot I was suppose to tell you where the cafeteria is. Just go straight down the hall, go upstairs and there's a pair of double doors that lead in to your destination."

Carol smiled. "Thanks, Cole. It was really great seeing you again. Maybe we could hang out sometime."

Cole nodded. "That'd be nice. I'll see you around. Good luck tonight."

Taking the route Cole directed her to, Carol made her way to the cafeteria, where she found Nya playing cards with Jay. Planning in her head what she wants to say, Carol calmly walked over to the water ninja.

"Hey, Nya," Carol said, "Can we talk for just a minute?"

"Oh, sure," Nya said, "You mind, Jay?"

"Not at all," Jay said, setting his deck of cards down and getting up, "I'll go get us some sodas." He walks away from the girls.

Carol smiled. "Okay, Nya. I've given it a lot of thought, and after careful consideration, I've decided that we don't need you to be a part of the group to help us win the Blade Cup. So you don't have to worry about us pressuring you anymore."

Nya shrugged. "Okay. Glad to hear it."

Carol rolled her eyes, but stuck to the script. "Well, since I'm not forcing you anymore, perhaps you can finally admit if you're stage fright or not."

Nya sighed. "Look, I'm not stage fright, but I will admit that something happened to me once that caused me to make a vow that I will never step foot on stage again. And it's none of your business what went wrong. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to my game once Jay gets back."

Carol sighed. "Alright. But just reminding you. We don't need your help."

With that being said, Carol made her way back to the auditorium, returning backstage to the rehearsal room. By the loud groan she just gave out, the others could tell something was amiss.

"How did it go?" Kitty asked.

"Well, I told her and she said okay," Carol began, "But then I told her to admit if she was stage fright."

"I don't like the sound of this," Zelda said.

"Of course she said she wasn't stage fright, but then she did give me a little hint. She did mention that something happened in the past that made her vow to never set foot on a stage again."

"And what happened?" Kitty asked.

"She told me that it's none of my business," Carol said, "I just don't understand. How can we make her tell us? And who else would know?"

"I know," said a voice from above. They looked to see it was Kai jumping down from the support beams.

"How did you get in here?" Kitty asked.

"I have my ways," Kai said, "But I don't plan on saying it."

"Forget about that," Carol said, "Just tell us what you know about why Nya won't perform on stage."

Kai sighed. "Nya will probably hate me for the rest of our lives, but you girls are her friends. It's best if you knew. Okay, so it all started with the Ignacia Talent Show coming up. Nya was finally old enough to be in it since you couldn't do it until the age of thirteen. Anyway, she was excited and had a song ready for it. Then came around time for the show and she started acting all moody and stuff. Well, here comes the talent show, Nya goes out on stage and performs her song and..." He stopped right there, giving a face and a shudder that gave a sign of discomfort. "I don't know if I should say it."

"Well, if it's too embarrassing to say the actual word aloud, just say it in a way to where we can understand," Kitty said.

Taking a deep breath, Kai nodded. "Okay. You all should be able to understand this. I hope." He paused for a moment before continuing. "When Nya was in the middle of performing her song, we saw a... stain on her... white kimono." Giving the girls a chance to gasp, Kai gave out a sigh. "Needless to say, Nya blossomed into a women that night. And that's the story of why Nya refuses to go on stage."

"Oh, my goodness," Zelda said.

"Now that is what I consider embarrassing," Kitty said, "The worst kind."

That's when Carol finally burst into tears. She went down on her knees sobbing uncontrollably. Everyone knew what Carol was like when she became emotional and would've given her some space, but she spoke up before they could rush off.

"I've been such a horrible friend!" Carol cried, "I was so concerned about my own problems and saving my own reputation that I didn't give a hoot about Nya's feelings whatsoever!"

"What do you mean by saving your own reputation?" Pixal asked.

"Well, I'm pretty sure by now that there's something weird about you, Carol," Kitty said, "Just fess up and tell us what's going on. You've hardly done anything to make us feel welcomed in your home town. You won't tell us about your parents and you won't tell us why everyone your own age and even young children can't stand to be in your presence. What is going on?"

Taking a moment to control herself, Carol looked at her friends with tears and make-up staining her face and sighs. "Okay, I guess I can start off with the whole thing about my parents. The truth is... I don't know them. I don't even remember them. I was a baby when it all happened. My brothers can only remember that our parents helped us escape when our house caught fire. The three of them were told to take me and themselves to my Aunt Rose's home. I've only ever known my aunt because she's the one who raised me. There's only few things we have that my parents ever gave us." She searched through her bag and took out Theodore. "My mother made this little guy. I take him all over the place for a reason. He keeps me going strong. And I know he carries a piece of her within him."

"And what about everyone you've grown up with in your hometown?" Zelda asked.

"Well, you all know how I'm sort of strange and weird and I talk a lot and I always hang around animals all the time," Carol said, "Well, everyone thought I was kind of a crazy girl before they found out something else I could do. The thing is... I can do magic."

Kitty shrugged. "Well we figured that you did."

"No, not just the kind of magic that comes with my elemental powers. I'm talking about magic that comes directly out of a spell book. But this type of magic that I know is **Hikari No Mahō**.I'll show you what I mean." Using only her hands and her mind, a beam of light began emerging from seemingly out of nowhere and was used to lift the stuffed bear off the ground, helping him float in the air. After receiving some applause, Carol set the bear back on the ground. "Yes, I know. My talent is amazing. But not everyone I've grown up with think so. The adults and elders don't mind because some of them still learn the good magic from the spell books, but my age group and younger choose not to learn it because they think it's not cool anymore. Well, I tried to pretend that it doesn't bother me when it actually does. And in case you're wondering, yes, my brothers can do magic, too. So we're basically considered freaks."

Kitty walked over to the ninja of animal sorcery. "Well, if that's what they think, then I guess we're all considered freaks."

"Same here," Pixal said.

"Count me in," Kai said.

"Don't forget to add me in," Zelda said.

"So am I." Everyone turned around to see Nya behind them, a sad expression on her face. "I think it's better to consider us all freaks."

"What are you doing here?" Carol asked, "I thought you didn't wanna be in the show."

"Well, I saw that Kai was missing and I had this strange feeling that he would tell you guys about my past experience being on stage. I was hoping to stop him, but it looks like he beat me to it."

"They had a right to know," Kai said.

"And I guess it's better if they did," Nya said.

"Nya, we're not gonna force you to do the show if you don't think you can do it," Carol said, "I should've been a better friend, but I got all mixed up in my own problems that I didn't even think about your problems. I'm really sorry for that."

"And I'm sorry for keeping my fears to myself. I guess I should've come clean about what my issues were. From here on out, no more secrets. I promise." Nya took the opportunity to give Carol a forgiveness hug before making a decision that she won't regret. "You wouldn't happen to have a spare dress for me, would you?"

"As a matter of fact, I do." Carol searched through her bag and took out a blue sapphire dress. "Here it is."

Nya took the dress from Carol. "I'll go put it on. Be right back."

Once Nya had on her dress and Carol went to fix her make-up, they went back over the song and now that Nya joined in, they had to make a few last minute changes. After practicing the song fully and going over the new surprise routine they had planned, the night had begun. And so did the show.

So many people filled up the auditorium with the allies of the ninja sitting up front. The ninja and Zelda were preparing backstage along with the other contestants.

"Okay, girls," Carol said, "We all know what we're doing and we each know our cues and verses. Remember to smile and have fun. I know we can do this. And I know we'll win the Blade Cup."

Zelda gasped. "Oh, dear. I think we may have some competition on our hands."

They looked to see Scalina and Selma walking out of one of the rehearsal rooms, both wearing classy gowns and wigs to give themselves blonde and brown hair.

Nya read the name on their rehearsal room door. "Songs of a Serpent? That's the most ridiculous name if you ask me."

"But if they are here, than that means Pythor must be here as well," Pixal said.

"Way to state the obvious, Pixal," Carol said.

"I can't help it if I offend anyone," said a familiar voice the girls knew well.

"Pythor's out there," Nya said, walking over to the curtain, "I'll go check it out." She pulled the curtain back a little to search for the Anacondrai.

"My only job will be to tell the truth," Pythor continued speaking to the other two judges, wearing a fake beard. Of course, Cole was one of the judges and the other was Gayle Gossip, a famous reporter for the local Ninjago City news channel.

"Listen, I happen to know Trent Scruffer since he's been the headmaster of the Marty Oppenheimer School of Performing Arts for over twenty years," Cole said, "I know what he looks like considering we've been sent a photograph of him."

"Well, I must admit, the camera adds a few pounds. I'm just happy to have the opportunity to judge this prestigious competition. As I'm sure the two of you are."

It was then that the strangest thing happened. There was a voice speaking from inside Pythor's stomach. "Wait a minute! Don't listen to this vile creature! I'm inside of him! He swallowed me! He's not a judge!"

Both the judges glared at Pythor.

"Do we look like idiots to you?" Gayle asked.

Pythor had to act quickly to continue his plan. "Quiet in there, or else I won't let you out."

Trent, who was the third judge, yelped in fear. "My apologies."

After all that awkwardness was put aside, music began to play as two men dressed in the traditional Ninjian clothing came out each holding a handle of the Blade Cup.

Pythor's eyes were set on the object inside the award. "The fang blade."

"I think you mean the Blade Cup," Cole said.

"Yes, whatever," Pythor dismissed Cole, keeping his eyes on the real prize in front of him.

Nya returned backstage, rushing over to the girls. "Looks like we're not the only one's here to win the Blade Cup. Pythor and all his cronies are here."

"Well, of course they are," Zelda said, "They'll do anything to get what they want."

"This complicates things," Pixal said, "I fear we may be no match to beat them."

Nya rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. Everyone knows snakes have no talent."

Kitty sighed. "Usually, I would say that we should make our move and steal it because we can't risk losing it again, but I'm not going to. We've worked too hard for this."

"Kitty's right," Carol said, "If we're gonna get that Blade Cup, we're gonna have to win it. And we're doing it our way."

"Let's do it!" the girls chanted together.

After many performances, from jugglers to beat boxers, the Songs of a Serpent went next. Most could admit that Selma and Scalina had beautiful voices, but the entire audience could tell they were Serpentine even under all the disguise.

_**My poison lies over the ocean, **_

_**my poison lies over the sea. **_

_**My poison lies over the ocean, **_

_**so bring back my poison to me!**_

They finished the short song and heard the cheering and applause of the Serpentine, a few Skulkin warriors and even Pythor. But pretty much every human in the audience booed and gave them a thumbs down.

Pythor immediately scribbles down a score of ten. Cole and Gayle agreed the song was well sung, but since most of the audience wasn't impressed, they gave out their score of six. Pythor immediately intimidates the two judges by growling in anger, making them flipped the score cards over to change it from a six to a nine.

Taking the stage was the announcer, calling out the last performers. "Wow! What a night it's been! And now for our final performance, taking the stage next is The Harmony of Life!"

"Okay, girls," Carol said, standing behind the curtain with the other girls, "If we're gonna do this, I want everyone to see who we are."

"I do not mean to alarm anyone, but I have butterflies in my stomach," Pixal said.

"It's okay, Pixal. Your just nervous is all."

Pixal shook her head. "No, I really do have butterflies." She opens up her stomach panel to release a flutter of butterflies."

Carol chuckles nervously. "Okay, I'm glad to see you got that out of your system."

"Last call for The Harmony of Life!" the announcer called out.

Carol motioned for the man's attention by clearing her throat. "Just give us another two minutes."

The announcer nodded before turning back to face the audience. "Do be patient, everyone! They will be out momentarily!"

Out in the crowd, the allies of the ninja were wondering why the girls were taking so long.

"What's taking them so long?" Monica asked.

"They're probably just getting set up," Jay said, "Sometimes that can take a few minutes."

"Or they probably made last minute attempts to steal the fang blade from the trophy," Garmadon said, "Cheating is never the best way of winning."

But that's exactly the opposite of what the girls were doing. Carol was going through the entire plan one last time. "...and when the last part of the song arrives, we come together and use our powers as one."

"It'll feel like we're doing the Tornado of Life, except this time it'll be more spectacular," Nya said, "I'm happy to say that I'm proud to be a part of this."

"Anything that we do will help us score perfect tens out there," Kitty said.

"Oh, I'm so excited!" Zelda exclaimed.

"The percentage of this performance's victory is 99%," Pixal said.

Carol smiled. "I have to be honest. I've never had any real friends growing up. Well, I've known a few, but I'm talking about best friends. And you four happen to be them. Forget about saving my reputation in Spaintown Village. It's time I started realizing that I have friends that care. I need to stop pretending nothing's wrong. I don't need the approval of anybody. I am who I am and nothing can change that. And I have all of you to thank. Let's get out there and sing!"

At the judges table, Pythor chuckled. "Well, it looks like the last act is no longer performing. What a shame. Which means I can give this to the true winners." Before Pythor could take the Blade Cup, the announcer returned to the stage.

"Ladies and gentlemen, The Harmony of Life!"

The curtains come to a close, confusing the audience and even the announcer. The sound of a violin playing was heard from behind the curtain as they were slowly being pulled apart with the use of Carol's magic. Once Kitty's violin solo ended, the girls began to sing with Carol taking the lead.

**Carol: **_**A time for us, someday there'll be**_

_**When **__**darknes**__**s **__**is**__** torn**_

_**By courage born**_

_**Of a **__**life**__** that's free**_

Carol used the sorcery part of her powers to create magical images of birds to fly around Zelda, who sang with a voice filled with beauty and movements filled with grace.

**Zelda: **_**A**__** time when dreams so long denied**_

_**Can flourish**_

_**As we unveil the **__**powers**__** we must **__**never**__** hide**_

Pixal used her powers of nature to sprout trees from the acorns upon the stage as the birds created from sorcery landed in them as they all sang the chorus together.

**Everyone: **_**A **__**time for us**_

_**At last we'll see**_

_**A life worthwhile**_

_**For you and me**_

Pythor finally had enough. He had no plans on losing the fang blade to the ninja and sent out the snake warriors that sat in the audience. Meanwhile, Kitty used her powers of the wild to send out vines and wild plants, wowing the crowd, but as she sang, she was also stopping the Serpentine.

**Kitty:**_**And with our **__**powers**_

_**Through **__**trails**__** and thorns**_

**Pixal: **_**We**__** will endure**_

_**As we pass surely through every **__**storm**_

Nya used her fans to carefully create a stream as Pixal aided her by creating soil and a trail of water was created as it was cleanse by a waterfall that poured over stones. Nya gave out a smile as she sung her part.

**Nya:**_**A time for us, someday there'll be**_

_**A new world**_

_**A world of shining hope for you and me**_

As Carol prepared to sing her solo part, a bright light shone from her staff. She knew what that meant as her body glowed and she was levitating in the air.

Carol had found her true potential.

**Carol:**_**A time for us**_

_**At last we'll see**_

_**A life worthwhile**_

_**For you and me**_

Carol's true powers were so strong that the animals within her came out through spirit, attacking snake warriors left and right, finally causing them to flee.

While Kitty played her violin solo, Carol was gently lowered down by Pixal, who had created a leaf pile for her to land softly on. Taking in a deep breath, she stood back up and helped the girls finish up the rest of the song.

**Everyone:**_**A time for us**_

_**At last we'll see**_

_**A life worthwhile**_

_**For you and me**_

The girls, sans Zelda, used their powers to combine them as one, using the sources of life to bring out a beautiful ending.

**Carol:**_** A world of shining hope for you and me**_

**Everyone:**_**A lot of shining hope for you and me**_

The crowd stood up from their seats, applauding for one of the greatest performances they had ever seen. The announcer rushed up on stage, literally bowing down in front of the girls.

"How incredible! Outstanding! This performance is like no other! These girls truly have talent!"

Cole and Gayle didn't hesitate to give the girls a score of ten, but Pythor placed an expression of anger on his face as he held out a zero, hearing the audience boo him. The third judge then sticks his arm out of Pythor's insides as he wrote a one next to the zero, making it a ten. The crowd begins cheering again as Pythor looks down at the score board with a gasp.

"No!" Pythor shouted, "I didn't write that!"

"It's a perfect score!" the announcer exclaimed, "The Harmony of Life wins the Blade Cup!"

Pythor stood up as the Blade Cup was being presented to the girls by Cole. "Stop! This is a travesty of epic proportions! I demand for there to be a recount! Recount, I say!"

Cole smiled as he handed Carol the trophy. "That was incredible. It was even better than our dance performance."

Carol chuckled. "I don't think anything could beat the triple tiger sashay."

"Well, I'll say this. Your performance took the cake. Congratulations."

The girls went backstage, laughing and dancing with adrenaline filling their bodies and happiness filling their hearts.

"I've never felt more alive," Pixal said, "That was a lot of fun."

"I know!" Nya exclaimed, giving a twirl, "I'm so glad to be over my fears. And it's all thanks to you, Carol."

"And you also discovered your true potential," Zelda said to the animal sorcery ninja.

"So what did you learn tonight, Carol?" Kitty asked.

"I know I literally try to make a big speech out of everything, but I'm just gonna make this short and sweet," Carol said, "I basically stopped being afraid of what others thought about me. Let them think I'm a freak. I have friends who care about me for who I am. And that's you girls."

"Awww!" The girls huddled up into a group hug around Carol.

The rest of the group came backstage to congratulate the girls.

"That was amazing!" Monica exclaimed, "Of every show I've seen, this one beats all of them!"

"You girls were wonderful out there," Misako said.

"Way to go, sis," Kai told Nya, "You finally got over your fears."

"Well, I had to get over them eventually," Nya said, "But it seems as though I'm the only one who hasn't figured out what my special powers are."

"You'll find it, Nya," Garmadon said, "Have patience. Don't rush into it so quickly."

"Uh, I don't wanna have to ruin the moment, but looks who's decided to join us," Jay said, pointing to someone behind the ninja.

Slithering out from the shadows was Pythor, removing his fake beard and throwing it aside. "Oh, I'm terribly sorry to ruin this wonderful moment, but did you know that it was me who pretended to be a judge?"

"You can't fool us, Pythor," Carol said, holding out her bo staff.

"Why don't you just get lost?" Nya said, pulling out her fans, "You're not getting the fang blade."

"Oh, I don't plan to fight, but I do plan to show you who's the greatest at being the big show stopper. Now, boys!"

Snake warriors were up on the catwalk dumping out sacks of dirt and sand, covering the entire backstage with dust. This gave Pythor the opportunity to snatch the Blade Cup from behind the ninja, taking out the fang blade and tossing the trophy aside.

Everyone was coughing and couldn't see a thing through all the dust clouding their vision. But they did know one thing: Pythor took off with the fang blade.

"I can detect that the fang blade is gone!" Pixal said while coughing.

"Aw, man!" Carol shouted out while hacking up a storm.

Once the dust finally cleared out, everyone began checking one another for any eye injuries.

"Is everyone alright?" Misako asked.

"Yeah, I think we'll be okay," Kitty said.

Lloyd gasped. "Wait a minute! Where's Zelda?"

"What?!" Carol screamed in fear. She looked around for any signs of where Zelda could've been, but all she found were a pair of glasses half buried in the mixture of sand and dirt. Picking them up, she looked all around until she saw the backstage door swinging as if someone had just left out. She sighed, looking at the rest of the team. "Looks like they've taken her."

"But we'll get her back," Lloyd said, "I can guarantee you that."

Carol gave him a nod. "I know."

But the mystery question must be revealed.

What happened to Zelda?

**NEXT SCENE:**

Pythor was the last to enter the serpent bus beside the building in a dark alley, closing the door behind him. He gave the Serpentine a smile of victory.

"My fellow Serpentine!" Pythor announced, "I am proud to say that the second fang blade is ours!" He held it up while hearing the snakes cheer.

Selma held up her husband's staff to gain their attention. "I have something I must show you. Or rather someone." She held up an unconscious Zelda, who had been taken down by a blow dart. "Behold! I have brought you the woman who freed us from captivity!"

Pythor gave an evil grin as the snakes cheered and the bus took off into the streets of Chitow City. Not only did they have the second fang blade, but they also had one of the ninja's allies.

This just keeps getting better and better.

**NEXT SCENE:**

The night after the show, the team sans Zelda were back at Carol's home. Carol's family decided to celebrated the girls winning the talent show by cooking them a wonderful steak dinner. This would be their last night to stay before they had to leave.

Carol wanted to make the most of it, but after dinner, she went outside on the front porch to give herself a few minutes to think. Sitting next to her was Theodore, who never said a word as Carol talked aloud to herself.

"Don't get me wrong, Theodore. I'm glad we won the show. I just hate the fact that we lost the fang blade. So much happened yesterday. We helped Nya get her confidence back and I finally revealed my secrets. Then I finally found my true potential because not caring what others thought of me was holding me back. I finally reconnect with Cole and just before we decided it was the best night ever, Pythor snatches what truly belonged to us and kidnaps Zelda in the process." She sighs. "Who knew that one night could change your whole world?"

The door opened and exiting outside was Rose, smiling at her niece. "I was wondering where you were. We were just about to have some _pastel de chocolate_ and play one of your favorite games."

Carol chuckled. "You know how much I love charades."

"Are you sure you can't stay one more day? You know we miss you terribly."

Carol sighed. "I know, _Tía_ Rose, but we still have to keep the Serpentine from finding the last two fang blades. But I promise that once things start settling down, I'll come back and visit you guys and stay for as long as I can."

Rose embraced her niece, letting the moment last until she looked Carol in her beautiful blue eyes. "Every time I look at you, I see an image of your _madre_. If she were here right now, she would be so proud of you."

"_Gracias, Tia Rose_. That means a lot."

"I am so sorry to hear about your friend getting kidnapped by those awful _serpientes_, but I know you and your friends will rescue her."

"I know we will." Carol stood up, helping her aunt to her feet. "Let's go inside. It's starting to get chilly out here. It won't be too long until winter comes. Besides, I don't plan on missing out on some of your famous chocolate cake."

The two went inside, enjoying the rest of the evening to just relax and spend quality time with one another.

Who knows when they'll get another opportunity to be a family?

**NEXT SCENE:**

That very moment, in an empty field, a vortex came up out of nowhere. Falling through it was none other than Wu. Behind him was Valderra.

And she was one happy woman.

"I'm back, Ninjago!" Valderra exclaims, laughing maliciously.

This is not good...

* * *

**Japanese translation:**

**Hikari No Mahō**

**English translation:**

**The Magic of Light**

**Spanish and English translations:**

**·****chocolate cake: ****pastel de chocolate**

**·Aunt: T****ía**

**·mother: ****madre**

**·Thank you, Aunt Rose: ****Gracias, Tia Rose**

**·****snakes: ****serpientes**

* * *

**Song used: A Time For Us**

* * *

**HEY, GUYS. **

**OKAY, SO JUST LETTING YOU KNOW THAT THE SONG ABOVE DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. I DID, HOWEVER, CHANGE A FEW WORDS, BUT I DO NOT OWN THE SONG.**

**ALSO, IF YOU'RE INTERESTED, YOU CAN ACTUALLY LISTEN TO THIS SONG SUNG BY A MUSICAL ENSEMBLE GROUP CALLED CELTIC WOMAN. YOU CAN LISTEN TO IT ON SPOTIFY UNDER THEIR ALBUM TITLED VOICES OF ANGELS. OR, IF YOU WANT, YOU COULD LISTEN TO IT ON YOUTUBE. I HAVEN'T, BUT YOU CAN. WELL, YOU COULD LITERALLY LISTEN TO IT WHEREVER YOU LISTEN TO MUSIC AT.**

**OKAY, I SERIOUSLY THOUGHT THIS CHAPTER WAS AWESOME! THE BAD THING IS ZELDA HAS BEEN TAKEN BY THE SERPENTINE. LET'S HOPE OUR HEROES CAN GET HER BACK.**

**OKAY, GUYS, DON'T FORGET TO EITHER SPOT THE DIFFERENCE, TELL ME WHAT YOUR FAVORITE PART WAS, OR JUST TELL ME HOW THINGS ARE GOING.**

**HOPE YOU ALL ARE STAYING HEALTHY OUT THERE. FOR THOSE OF YOU HAVING TO STAY HOME OR GO BACK TO SCHOOL OR WORK, STAY SAFE AND STAY HEALTHY. GOD BLESS US ALL!**

**THANKS TO ALL THE READERS AND REVIEWERS OUT THERE. YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME. AND THANKS FOR HELPING THIS STORY REACH 50 REVIEWS. SO INCREDIBLE!**

**HOPE THIS CHAPTER WAS GOOD.**

**PLEASE REVIEW.**


	19. S1 E19: Living With The Dark Queen

S1 E19

LIVING WITH THE QUEEN OF DARKNESS

Silence. Stars. Crickets chirping.

Peace filled the night, with a cool wind blowing and the sounds of metal filled the air.

Wait, that's not silence.

But the Destiny's Bounty was never quiet. Even during a late night training session.

"The Wild!"

The wrapping of vines tightened up on a Serpentine warrior, with wild plants attacking the creature as well.

"Animal Sorcery!"

A tiger growled and sprinted at a different snake warrior, clawing the slither head down.

"Nature!"

Trees and bushes covered in thorns surrounded and poked through another serpent, keeping the snake from escaping.

A light from above turned on, revealing the Serpentine to be only training dummies. The three ninja were getting stronger due to finding their true potentials. Garmadon stood next to Kai, who was working the light, and smiled down at the girls.

"Well done," Garmadon said, "Because each of you have unlocked your true potential, your powers are becoming stronger. And once Nya unlocks her true powers, we may finally have a chance to find the Yellow Ninja."

"Before you go into any detail about that, I'm gonna go get Nya," Kai said, walking down to the lower deck.

"Where is Nya? Whether she has discovered her true potential or not, she should still be part of this training session."

"She told us she had a headache so she went to bed early," Carol said. Kitty and Pixal gave her a look, but the purple lavender ninja hadn't a care in the world what they thought. "Honesty is always the best policy. I stand true to that."

While they had their conversation, Kai went to search for his little sister, who he found sitting up in bed in her blue pajamas reading the first book of the famous Midnight series. He knocked softly on the door frame, getting her attention.

"Hey, sis," Kai said, "Can I come in or do I have to ask permission?"

Nya shook her head. "I'd rather be alone right now." She went back to her book.

Rolling his eyes, Kai flipped on the light switch, sat on the side of his sister's bed and snatched the book out of her hands. "I'll take that."

"Hey, I was just getting to the good part!"

"Your book can wait. Look, ever since the night of the talent show, you've done nothing but sulk here for the past three days. What is going on with you?"

"Why do you care?"

"Because I'm your brother and I love you and I have every right to know what's going on. So tell me. Why are you so depressed?"

Nya sighed. "I just feel... left out. The other girls have discovered their true potential, and I have yet to find mine. It's just not fair. I have a feeling that I may never find it. I just wanna find mine so bad. I have a theory on what will happen if I do."

"Oh, please." Kai rolled his eyes.

"Okay, well if you're so worried about hearing it, you take a guess. What's my theory?"

"Isn't it obvious? You hope that if you find your true potential, you'll become the Yellow Ninja. Don't you remember what your teachers have said?"

"Yes. Only a woman with a pure heart and the goodness of light within will become the Yellow Ninja. But that's exactly who I am."

"But they also told you and the others that your elements have already been chosen for you. So none of you are destined to become the Yellow Ninja. You need to get that through your head. And I thought I was stubborn."

"But there's still something that bugs me. The Yellow Ninja should know everything about the martial arts. She should also understand the way of the ninja and should be able to learn spinjitzu pretty quick. The Yellow Ninja has to defeat Queen Valderra in the final battle. So she can't be an ordinary girl. She needs to be able to fight. And that someone has to be me."

Kai sighed. "I guess I can't force you to change your mind. You think you should be the best." He got up and yawned. "Well, I think I'm gonna hit the hay. Big day tomorrow. Mom and Dad are coming by in the morning to visit us."

Footsteps came rushing down the hall. Kitty skidded to a halt in front of the doorway. "You'll never believe who just came home."

Nya gasped, jumping out of bed. "Wu's home!"

The three rushed out on the deck with everyone else gathered around Wu, who embraced his daughter with every might he could muster.

"Ah, it's so good to be home," Wu said.

"We're glad you're home, brother," Garmadon said.

"Did you bring back something cool?" Lloyd asked.

"Is Fuzzles still with you?" Monica asked.

Wu reached into his bag and pulled out the stuffed panda, handing it to his daughter. "I believe this belongs to you, Mon Mon."

"Oh, my gosh, Sensei Wu, you have missed out on a lot!" Carol exclaimed, "So much has happened while you were gone. Pixal is a nindroidette, Kai is the mysterious samurai, Lloyd is the mysterious green ninja, and I'm a witch who controls the Magic of Light. Oh, and Kai and Kitty are officially dating and-"

"Carol, please," Wu said, "I cannot understand a word you're saying. What did you say Pixal is again?"

Pixal smiled. "You've been gone a while, my teacher. We'll catch you up later. But you should know, all of us except for Nya have discovered our true potential."

Wu nodded. "I am happy to hear how much progress you girls have made. And do not worry, Nya. You will find your true potential soon."

Nya sighed. "I hope so. But we shouldn't be worried about that. Let's just be glad that you're home safe and sound."

Then, from suddenly out of nowhere, four arms moved around like snakes from behind Wu. That's when Queen Valderra rose up and stood in front of the old man, showing her famous wicked smile. "Hello."

Nya gasped, pulling out her fans. "Sensei Wu, watch out!" She rushes up to attack Valderra.

Pixal dives in to push Wu out of the way. "My teacher!"

Nya stood in front of the old evil queen, holding her fans out. "Looks like you've come back to play. And it seems like you've decided to take drastic measures. What kind of person has four arms?"

"So we meet again, wielder of water," Valderra said, keeping her distance from Nya.

"How did she get here?" Carol asked, preparing to turn into a lion to maul the queen of darkness.

"She must've followed Sensei Wu!" Nya shouted.

"Nya, stop!" Wu got in between Nya and Valderra. "Don't harm her. She is the reason I left. For so long as Pythor continues to find the fang blades and until we can stop him, she will be our guest."

"Wu, are you out of your mind?" Garmadon asked, shocked to hear his brother's words.

"Valderra is no longer with us," Misako said, "She is against us."

"Garmadon, Misako," Valderra said, looking at the two with a nostalgic expression, "It's been years. You two don't look like you've aged a day."

She went up to them, but Garmadon held Misako in his arms and gave Valderra a look. "Stay away from us."

"That is no way to treat our guest," Wu said.

"Unless that guest is totally corrupted by evil!" Nya shouted.

"There is no way I am living with this old biddie!" Kitty said.

"And there is no way to overlook the fact that she now has four arms," Pixal pointed out.

"And may I remind you that ever since she turned evil, she has been trying to steal our silver weapons," Carol said.

But they finally reached a breaking point for the old teacher.

"ENOUGH!"

Everyone stood in silence for a moment before Valderra gave out a sigh.

"You can talk bad about me all you want. It won't hurt my feelings. I don't care about your weapons. I only care about stopping the Serpentine from getting their scaly hands on all four fang blades so that we won't have to deal with that dreadful Great Devourer. And besides, this may be my one chance to finally meet Zelda for the first time. Where is she? Wu told me she was here with all of you."

Carol chuckled nervously as well as the others. None of them were sure how to tell Valderra that their granddaughter has been kidnapped by the snakes.

"Uh, yeah, about Zelda..." Carol took a deep breath before finally letting loose the truth. "Zelda was kidnapped by the Serpentine."

Everyone was worried at first how Valderra would react, but she only gave out a sigh and said, "I had a feeling considering that she accidentally opened the tombs and was forced to do their bidding. Marga tells me she is a sweetheart, but she can be so stubborn. No need to worry. We will rescue her."

"And from here on out, for as long as Valderra is here, you will be respectful to her," Wu said.

"Yes, Wu," everyone said.

"Fine, but I won't like it," Garmadon said, keeping his grip on Misako's hand.

"Now to the bridge," Wu commanded, "We must put our attention to more pressing matters."

Sighing, everyone followed Wu to the bridge, keeping their distance from Valderra.

This is going to be the worst for the heroes of Ninjago.

**NEXT SCENE:**

Sunrise began to peek over the horizon surrounding Ouroboros. The snakes were going about the morning as they prepared to start heading out to their next destination: The Waves of the West to the Fountain of Life. The generals and Pythor were preparing their travel route while Selma and Scalina were having a conversation of their own.

"So who exactly did you get to shoot that blow dart at Zelda?" Scalina asked.

"I asked Skales if he could get some from Pythor," Selma said, "I may not be able to stand the girl, but if you force her to do something, she'll be too fearful to fight back. I believe I have found the perfect example of who our servants will be."

"Don't you think you're being a little too hard on her?"

"Of course not. She's getting exactly what she deserves." Selma picks up a bell, ringing it frivolously. "Zelda, where are those beverages?"

Limping her way to the female serpents was Zelda, and let's just say, the last couple of days have been horrible for her.

She still wore the dress from the talent show and it was now pretty much reduced to rags since the left shoulder strap was torn and it now went up to her knees since the bottom was ripped apart. Her hair was literally a mess since the ponytail reach halfway down and she was half blind without her glasses. Her legs and arms were scraped up and her face was covered in dirt smudges. She had also twisted her ankle after tripping over on her own two feet since the bottom of the soles were completely covered in blisters since she lost her shoes.

She gave the snake women their drinks. "Here you are."

"It's about time," Selma said, taking a glass and drinking it before spitting it out in disgust, "Oh, this is awful! You have soiled it!" She took the other glass and splashed it all over Zelda's face, making her eye make-up run. "No matter. I must prepare myself for our journey. Scalina, keep your eyes on her." She walked away, leaving the human girl alone with the snake queen.

Scalina sighed, taking out a handkerchief. "Here. Dry yourself and take a rest. You have been doing this nonstop since you were brought here."

Zelda took the handkerchief, but she then threw it at Scalina's face. "I don't want your sympathy. I just want to go home."

"As much as I would love to do that, I'm afraid that's out of my control. You are now under Selma's control. And she plans to use you in order for us to find the next fang blade."

"The ninja will stop you. You will never unleash the Great Devourer. We won't allow it."

Scalina sighed. "Unlike Pythor, I have different reasons for wanting to release that giant snake. I will admit that Pythor is a fool, but I will continue to let him do this, even if it means he causes his own downfall."

"What do you mean?" Zelda was confused. Why would Scalina want her husband to release the Great Devourer even if it means he will probably either not live or no longer continue being the Serpentine leader?

"Oh, Scalina, we're about to leave!" Pythor called out to his wife.

"I'll be right there, my love!" The snake queen turned back to face Zelda. "I cannot explain anything to you right now, but when everything goes normally again, I promise to tell you."

"Tell me what?"

"What should really happen between humans and snakes." Scalina turned away and slithered over to her husband.

Zelda sat there for a moment, pondering everything she just heard. But as Selma came along to tie her up with rope and lead her to the snake bus, only one small question formed in the back of her mind.

What is Scalina planning?

**NEXT SCENE:**

Back on the bounty, morning has risen. Kai and Nya's parents have come to visit yet again and Jay was actually busy fixing up some of the electronics and rebuilding the training course in the bounty's training room to help the ninja hone their skills until the monastery training course was officially rebuilt.

At this time the ninja as well as their teachers and allies and Valderra were gathered in the control room, discussing the events with Sensei Wu about the Serpentine's progress while he was away.

"Where are we at with the four fang blades?" Wu asked.

"Pythor has managed to take the first two, but there's still two left and we only need one in order to prevent him from unleashing the Great Devourer," Carol explained.

"Any luck finding their whereabouts?"

"Unfortunately, no, but the Robin is programmed to alert us if she sees any suspicious activity," Pixal said, "It is one of the many great aspects to technology."

Garmadon sighed. "Technology these days."

"I don't care much for technology myself, but if it can help us find the fang blade and Zelda, then it may be our only chance," Wu said, "For now we must prepare ourselves for our journey. Pixal, set sail for the skies. Kitty and Carol, begin your sparring practice. Lloyd, keep an eye out for any suspicious activity. Kai and Nya, prepare the deck and double check the anchor. We need to be ready when we first get word of Pythor's whereabouts."

"What about me?" Monica asked her father.

"It is time for you history lesson, Mon Mon. Go on to my room. I'll be there in a little while."

Sighing, Monica walked away, grabbing her history book from the table.

Valderra gave Wu a look before saying, "You are a very overprotective father."

Wu sighed. "So I am. But I have my reasons."

"You cannot keep her hidden in the shadows. Who knows? Maybe there is something big for her in store. She may be destined to become a great hero and you won't even let her train for battle." She paused a moment, looking behind Wu to see Nya spying on her and rolls her eyes. "Shouldn't you be out on deck?"

"I just thought I'd check up on you," Nya said, "Let me make this clear. My eyes are on your eyes." Then she disappears, but not without hitting her head on the doorway.

Sighing, Wu walked over to his brother and sister-in-law. "Garmadon, Misako, would you both mind explaining to me everything that has transpired since I left? Pixal said something about the Robin being programmed."

"Oh, where do we even begin?" Garmadon said, "It feels like a roller coaster of events happened in such a short amount of time."

"How about we go and prepare some tea before we discuss everything," Misako said.

While the older teachers went to discuss important matters, Kai and Nya were outside on the deck, meeting up with their parents.

"Sorry you have to come along on one of our missions," Kai said, "The Serpentine are finding the fang blades faster than fire spreading through the forest. I wish I would've called sooner."

"Don't be sorry, honey," Maya said, "We don't mind being a part of your adventures as heroes."

"Mom, the last time any of you were a part of our adventures, Valderra's granddaughter kidnapped you," Nya said, "And in case you haven't noticed, the queen of darkness is on the bounty with us at this very moment. Didn't you see her? She has four arms! Wherever Wu found her, she's now made it possible so that she can possess all four weapons at once. I don't trust her. Not one bit."

"Nya, haven't you ever heard the expression 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer?'" Ray asked.

"That phrase is nothing but a bunch of baloney, Dad. I just don't understand why Sensei Wu would bring her here. She's never even met Zelda. Why can't Wu understand that Valderra is not the woman she used to be?"

"Nya, you have to remember that Valderra wasn't always the queen of darkness," Kai reminded her, "She used to be an ordinary person who learned the way of the ninja and was also Wu's girlfriend. Even though Wu moved on and Valderra's pure evil, they still have a place for each other within their hearts."

Nya gasped. "That's it!"

"What's it?"

"To unlock my special power. Our teachers said the heart is the key. Maybe if I stand up to Queen Valderra, I'll find my true potential and then everyone can see I'm the Yellow Ninja! Kai, you are a genius! I could hug you!" She quickly embraces her brother.

"Thanks, but I don't think I'm following your logic."

"No time to explain. I have to go train. If I'm gonna confront Valderra soon, I gotta be at the top of my game." Nya jumps in the air, doing a twirl. "This is the perfect idea."

"Nya, even though Valderra is evil, she's still a guest upon the bounty," Maya told her daughter, "Why must you go to the extreme on everything to try and have things go your way?"

"It's just who I am, Mom," Nya said, "I don't care what anyone else thinks. Valderra might've fooled Sensei Wu, but don't think for a second I'm not keeping my eye on her. Mom, Dad, Kai, the Queen of Darkness just became our roommate!"

And the craziness for the past couple of days proves to be in between the balance of right and wrong for Nya.

They actually learned a few habits that the queen of darkness had, such as using a dagger instead of a toothbrush to clean her sharp teeth. She also had a knack for cooking, but the only thing she ever prepared was a black grub called condensed evil, to which she states it's low in fat. To everyone else, it was dark and disgusting. Plus it was also alive.

But every time Nya was around her, Valderra would do everything in her power to annoy the water ninja.

Nya was trying to watch her favorite show, The Art of True Love, but Valderra changed the channel, switching it over to a horror movie that was just too gory and horrifying, causing her to run out of the room.

They flew into a storm while heading west, having trouble just keeping the steering straight. But while everyone else worked to keep the ship from crashing, Valderra was outside sunbathing. Dark queens tend to keep gloomy tans. And it was actually quite strange to the ninja.

But nights were definitely the worst. Valderra had to stay in the ninja's room and with age comes many physical turmoils. One of those happens to be loud snoring. Which kept the girls up the entire night and making it difficult to get through the day.

Morning arrived and Valderra was relaxing on the couch reading a dark romance novel. The girls couldn't help but peek to see that she was actually just acting normal, but Nya would have none of it.

"I don't get it," Nya said, "She tries to act normal, but everything normal to her is pure evil to the rest of us. And who reads dark romance? That's just pure sadness and a little bit scary."

"I must disagree with you, Nya," Pixal said.

Nya gasped. "You read dark romance?"

Pixal shook her head. "No, not that. I'm referring to your statement about Valderra. I've noticed when she isn't so focused on trying to turn Ninjago into her own image, she's actually quite fascinating."

"I have to agree," Kitty said, "Sure, four arms are freakish, but all in all, she doesn't seem that bad of a gal."

"My aunt always told me that even the darkest of people still have just a touch of goodness in them," Carol said, "Sometimes you just have to help them find it. Maybe by helping Valderra act like a normal person, she seems to have just a flavor of sweetness to her personality."

Nya groaned. "She might be pulling the wool over all your eyes, but not mine. She's up to something. And I'm gonna be ready for it." She ran off to the ninja's shared bedroom.

Meanwhile, the rest of the ninja went up to the bridge, where Pixal sees that the Robin has found a recording of the Serpentine nearing the location of the Waves of the West.

"Look." Pixal pointed at the screen. "The Robin has pinpointed the Serpentine's location. They are heading for the Waves of the West."

"I'll go notify the others," Kitty said as she walked out of the bridge.

Meanwhile, below deck, Nya was pacing around in circles, wondering if she was right or if the others saw something about Valderra that she didn't.

"I don't get it," she said to herself, "At this point I can't even tell if Valderra is good, evil, or both." She sighed. "I need to take my mind off all this. Maybe some lunch might help."

But as she walked out of the room, she heard what sounded like Misako's voice.

"Quickly, follow me," Misako said from down the hall, "I don't want your father finding us." The sound of a door closed shut.

Nya, who's curiosity always got the better of her, decided to see what was going on. Sneaking up to the door, she grabbed a step stool and peered through the door's window. Inside the room were Misako and Monica. Sitting in between them were the four silver weapons.

"Our training sessions are going exceptionally well, Monica," Misako said, "You really are becoming a true warrior."

"Well, I don't like to brag, but I will admit that I really enjoy training to learn the way of the ninja," Monica said, "And I have you and Uncle Garmie to thank."

"I have a feeling that you may be destined for something truly remarkable. As you know, only a woman with a pure heart and the goodness of light within will become the Yellow Ninja."

Monica's eyes widened a bit. "Y-You think I'm the Yellow Ninja?"

"Monica is the Yellow Ninja?" Nya asked herself quietly before listening in on the conversation again.

"When the four weapons are laid out before the destined one, the weapons will react, revealing the identity of the Yellow Ninja," Misako said.

"Aunt Mimi, I don't think I'm cut out to be the Yellow Ninja," Monica said.

"You never know. It could be your destiny. But we will never be certain of it unless you give it a try. Now approach the weapons."

Nya was itching to see what would happen next, but a voice that sounded like true darkness came out from around the corner.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Nya gasped, falling off the step stool. She looked to see Valderra and sighed a breath of relief, even while giving the ruler of darkness a look of disgust. "I'm not doing anything. What are you doing?"

"Your brother asked me to find you," Valderra said.

"Well, tell him I'm busy."

Valderra rolled her eyes and gave Nya a smirk. "You still believe that you could become the Yellow Ninja. Ha! What a fool you are! Your element has been chosen for you. You don't carry the personalities of who the Yellow Ninja is supposed to be."

Nya clenched her fists in anger. "Oh, that's it! I am tired of everyone telling me that I can't be the greatest ninja! I can literally be better than the rest of those show offs who found their true potentials before me! I'm tired of being in last place! I can fight you better than anyone can! And I won't have anyone else put me down!"

The door to the training room opened with Monica rushing out first. "What is going on out here?"

"Perhaps you should be asking Little Miss Snoopy Pants that question," Valderra said.

Monica gasped. "Nya, were you... spying on me?"

Nya sighed, realizing that lying would only make things worse. "Yes, I was spying on you. I overheard you and Misako and I saw everything going on in the room. So are you the Yellow Ninja or not?"

Monica shook her head. "I'm afraid to say I'm not. I'll be honest, though. I don't really think I can handle that kind of responsibility."

"So the weapons didn't tell you. That means I still have a chance to prove myself I'm worthy."

Misako sighed, shutting the door behind her. "When will you learn, Nya? The world does not revolve around you. Besides, Monica never wanted to know if she was the Yellow Ninja."

"Why?" Valderra asked.

"To be honest, I want to train to learn the way of the ninja," Monica said, "I want to help the others in any way that I can. If I can at least learn spinjitzu, I may be able to find out if I have an element of my own. If I don't, it won't bother me. I'll at least be able to learn the way of the ninja so I can teach others when I get older. That way many can become heroes, too."

Even if she was the dark queen, Valderra gave Monica a smile. "Whether your father allows you to fight or not, I'm sure he would be proud of what you say you will do. He's a very lucky man to have a daughter like you."

"So who's the Yellow Ninja?" Nya asked.

"I'm afraid we may never know," Misako said, "But that doesn't mean we should give up. We will continue searching."

"Well, I'm happy to say that you should search no more. Once I find my true potential, I'll become the Yellow Ninja."

"Nya!" Everyone turned around to see Kai walked down the steps. "Where have you been? You were supposed to meet up with everyone in the bridge. The Robin's spotted the Serpentine's location." He walks back upstairs.

They all follow behind and enter the bridge, looking up at the main computer.

"So where are the slither brains?" Monica asked.

"Looks like they're entering the Waves of the West," Lloyd explained, "The fang blade must be hidden somewhere around the Fountain of Life."

"And where the snakes are, so is Zelda," Valderra said.

"That's also the same place where Nya and Valderra first faced off," Carol said, "I'll never forget our first adventure as ninja."

Nya crossed her arms. "Carol, you seriously don't know anything. I didn't fight against Valderra. I fought against Marga. And besides, I recall Marga cheating the whole time."

"Marga is not a cheater!" Valderra shouted, "How dare you speak of my eldest granddaughter in such a way?"

"Would you two stop trying to go for each other's throats?" Kitty yelled out, "For the sake of the fang blade and Zelda, can we please just get along?"

"I'm just gonna pretend nothing's going on and continue," Lloyd said, "Since the last time we were at the Waves of the West, it looks like the waters are preparing for a storm. Since hurricane season is upon us, the waves will be stronger in the rushing winds. It could cause a tsunami of water to flood the entire place. We'll have to prepare to get wet, but we also need to get out of there before the storms get too dangerous."

"Well, this is just fantastic," Kitty said sarcastically.

"No, it's not," Carol said, "It's horrible. We're going out to fight snakes in a storm and we could all drown. I don't like this one bit."

"We will do what we must," Wu said.

"I'll come along with you all," Lloyd said, "While you girls are down there to stop the Serpentine from stealing the fang blade, Valderra and I can go and find Zelda and rescue her."

"You're not going in there alone with Valderra," Garmadon said, "She may not be doing anything evil at this moment, but I still don't trust her."

"I will go along with them," Wu said, "I have been waiting for an opportunity to meet Pythor."

"So where are the weapons?" Pixal asked.

"And why is Valderra not here?" Nya ran out of the bridge and down below deck. She could hear the others calling out for her, but she ignored them. Rushing inside the room where she caught Misako and Monica at moments ago, she now caught Valderra holding up the silver weapons. "I knew it! I knew I couldn't trust you, you thief!"

"You are such a foolish child," Valderra said, shaking her head, "I have tried proving to you countless times that I want no trouble, but your ears refuse to listen. I suppose I shall give you what you want. You want a fight, you'll get one! I look forward to teaching you a lesson!"

"This ends now! Ninja Go!" Nya performs spinjitzu and goes towards Valderra, who tries to trip her. The water ninja is thrown out of her spinjitzu tornado, but lands on her feet without a scratch. "I'm alive? I'm alive!"

"I'm fed up with you! You need to be taught a lesson!" Valderra kicks out her foot, but Nya dodges it by doing a backflip.

"Nya, where are you?" She could hear Kai calling out for her.

Nya quickly locks the door before running up to tackle down the dark queen, but Valderra proves to be stronger than she thought.

Kai rushed up to the door, hearing struggling noises inside. The others followed behind as he tried opening the door, but it was locked. "Nya, what are you doing in there?"

"Discovering my true potential!" Nya shouted from inside the room.

Kitty tried pushing on the door, but it wouldn't budge. "Ugh! She must've locked the door! Why is she doing this?"

"She thinks she'll unlock her power if she stands up to Valderra," Kai finally admitted.

"Why would she think that?" Maya asked.

"Because she thinks she's the Yellow Ninja!"

"I'm starting to get fed up with this!" Misako said.

"Let me use my powers to open the door," Carol said, "Everyone stand back." She quickly activates her true potential mode. "Animal Sorcery!" Using the strength of an elephant, she easily knocks down the door.

Everyone looked to see Nya still standing, but Valderra had been knocked down to the floor.

"I...I did it," Nya said, "I actually did it! I defeated Valderra! Are my eyes glowing? Did I unlock my powers? Is this my true potential?" But after seeing that nothing would happen, she grew frustrated. "Ugh! Why isn't it working? Why has my true potential not been found?"

"Because you cannot defeat someone who allowed herself to be defeated," Wu said. He bent down to help raise Valderra off the floor some. "Are you alright, Valderra?"

"I am just fine," Valderra said. Then she looked at Nya with eyes that looked to have just a bit of kindness to them. "I wasn't going to hurt you, child. I was only fetching your weapons."

"No, you weren't!" Nya shouted, "You were trying to steal them!"

"I asked her to get them," Wu said stoically, "Perhaps it is best you do not reach your true potential, or else someone could get hurt."

"It's time you realize that you can't be the greatest," Misako said, "You are not destined to be the Yellow Ninja. You are destined to be the Mistress of Water."

"NO!" Nya shouted, "I DON'T WANT TO BE THE MISTRESS OF WATER! I WANT TO BE THE YELLOW NINJA! I WANT TO BE THE GREATEST!"

"You're turning into a brat!" Kitty yelled.

"Some hero you've turned out to be," Carol said.

"I do not like this new attitude of yours," Pixal said.

Nya looked at her friends, seeing how their words deeply hurt her. She was only trying to prove that she is the greatest, but in their eyes, all they saw was someone who only thought of herself. Someone who would never change.

Kai went over to help Wu bring Valderra back to her feet. "I apologize for my sister's actions."

"You have nothing to apologize for, boy," Valderra said, "It is only your sister who must say those words."

"Nya," Wu said, "Is there something you would like to say?"

Nya stood there a moment, angry tears streaming from her eyes. It was that moment when Jay walked up to the doorway, grease covering his face and clothes.

"What's going on here?" Jay asked.

Nya gave out a heavy sigh, regretting what she planned to say, but she knew it would be better this way. "Well, I suppose that if I can't be the greatest, then I might as well just leave the team. Since I'm pretty much a failure, I might as well just not call myself a ninja. I quit!"

With soft sobs, she ran out of the room.

The only noise in the room was silence...

* * *

**OMG!**

**THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING! NYA CAN'T QUIT THE TEAM! SHE JUST CAN'T!**

**WOW, I'M LEAVING YOU ON A CLIFFHANGER! I BET A WHOLE BUNCH OF QUESTIONS ARE GOING THROUGH YOUR MIND RIGHT NOW. WILL NYA ACTUALLY QUIT THE TEAM? WILL THEY SAVE ZELDA AND GET THE FANG BLADE? AND WHO IS THE YELLOW NINJA? **

**JUST REMINDING EVERYONE. IF YOU THINK YOU KNOW THE ANSWERS, PLEASE DO NOT PLACE THEM IN THE REVIEWS. NO SPOILERS, PLEASE.**

**OKAY, GUYS, DON'T FORGET TO SPOT THE DIFFERENCE OR TELL ME WHAT YOUR FAVORITE PART IS IN THE REVIEWS.**

**JUST THANKING ALL THE WONDERFUL READERS AND REVIWERS OUT THERE. YOU GUYS ARE SO AWESOME! **

**HOPE EVERYONE'S STAYING SAFE AND HEALTHY OUT THERE. PRAYING THAT THINGS WILL GET BETTER. I KNOW THEY WILL. **

**HOPE YOU GUYS ENJOYED THIS CHAPTER.**

**PLEASE REVIEW.**


	20. S1 E20: The Yellow Ninja

S1 E20

THE YELLOW NINJA

Everyone on the ship was speechless. The ninja were even more so now that they've lost an important member of their team.

Everyone just witnessed Nya admit that being better than everybody else was more important and caused her to quit being a ninja. The three wise teachers couldn't believe it. Kai only sighed and placed his head in his hands. Maya and Ray were just completely shocked. Lloyd and Monica just didn't know what to say. The ninja looked as though they could yell or cry, but all they could do was stay silent.

It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Until Jay, who was still pretty much bewildered, finally spoke up. "Does anyone mind explaining what just happened?"

Valderra sighed, feeling the emerald necklace that remained on her neck. "People change for the better or for the worse. Because Nya decided to keep her mind set on being the greatest, she has chose the latter."

The ship came to a sudden stop. Everyone expected it, but Carol landed flat on her face. She picked herself up, shaking the dizziness off.

"Are we here?" Carol asked.

"Yes," Wu said, "We have reached our destination. Let's go find Pythor."

"But what about Nya?" Pixal asked.

"We can't leave her behind," Kitty said, "Give us a little time and maybe we can-"

"We have no time to waste," Wu interrupted, "Nya has made her choice. We must give her time to cope with her emotions. Now let's go."

"Daddy, can I please come with you?" Monica asked, "I can help you."

"No, Monica. You will stay here with your aunt and uncle where it is safe."

"But-"

"Monica," Garmadon said, "It's best to listen to your father. Besides, it's time for your history lesson."

Monica sighs in defeat. "Okay."

"Come on, girls," Carol said, a sad expression forming on her face.

While the Smith family, Garmadon, Misako and Monica remained on the bounty, the remaining three ninja, Wu, Valderra and Lloyd disembarked from the flying vessel and walk upon the Waves of the West, heading in the direction to the Fountain of Life.

"I just can't believe it," Carol said, "Our team isn't complete without Nya. I wanna cry, but I know right now isn't the right time."

"You're not the only one," Kitty said.

Carol gasped. "But you never cry. It's just not who you are."

"Carol, nobody is made of stone. Everyone cries."

"I may be a Nindroidette, but even I cry," Pixal said.

"Do you think there might be a way to keep Nya from actually quitting the team?" Carol asked.

Kitty shook her head and sighed. "I honestly don't know if we can."

"Stop!" Wu shouted out, "We have arrived at the gateway to the Fountain of Life."

Thunder could be heard in the distance with the wind starting to pick up. Lloyd checked the radar, seeing a big red and purple blob coming their way. "Looks like a hurricanes on the way here, everyone. From what I've read, these storms can cause the waves here to become completely unstable. Even the smallest use of magic can cause the waves to turn into a tsunami."

"Then we will not be allowed to use our weapons," Pixal said.

"Aw, but I wanted to turn myself into a narwhal," Carol said, "They're known as the unicorn of the sea."

"Carol, that hurricane is coming and it's already gonna be making those waves go wild," Kitty said, "Even the smallest use of our powers can place this whole island underwater. We can't let anything prevent us from getting the fang blade."

"Or rescuing Zelda," Valderra said.

Carol sighed, putting her bo staff behind her back. "Okay, I won't use it. To be honest, I'm actually glad Nya didn't come. She wouldn't hesitate to use her powers. And who knows? Maybe when we get back, she'll actually change her mind about quitting the team and come back to us."

"All she needs is time to think," Wu said, "She could be making her way here right now to join in with us and apologize for her actions."

Oh, Wu. If only you were right.

**NEXT SCENE:**

The bounty was filled with the sounds of drawers being pulled opened and things being stuffed inside suitcases.

Nya wasn't kidding about leaving the team. She couldn't continue the life of a ninja if she couldn't be the greatest. Besides the fact that her friends said what they said, she knew good and well that she wasn't wanted.

_They don't need me,_ Nya thought, _They're better off without me. I can go and be my own ninja. I don't need them. I don't need anyone._

Her family came in to check on her, shocked to see that she wasn't playing around.

"I didn't think you were actually serious," Kai said.

Nya nodded. "I'm not playing games anymore. I wasn't meant to do this."

"So I suppose that's it then," Maya said, "You're quitting the team all because you can't be the greatest."

"Yep."

"After everything you went through to become a ninja," Ray said, "It was all for nothing."

Nya shrugged. "Pretty much."

"But you became a ninja to rescue us," Maya reminded her daughter, "You were chosen personally by destiny to become the water ninja. Why can't you be happy with the powers that you were granted with?"

Nya sighed. "If I had known the prophecy of the Yellow Ninja existed before, I could have just went for that. But destiny decided to make me a loser ninja."

"It's not destiny's fault," Kai said, "It's yours. You think that the world revolves around you. You think that everyone should place a crown over your head and make you queen. You think that just because things don't go your way, you have to go to the extreme to make it. The world is not going to bow down to you. We are not going to kiss your feet and make you the greatest. So which would you rather be? The greatest ninja or the ninja destiny chose you to be?"

Nya didn't say a word as she continued packing. Knowing that he wouldn't get an answer, Kai walked out of the room. He knew what Nya would've said if she had answered.

Maya sighed. "I'm not gonna try to talk some sense into you. If you think going home is better than being here, we will be glad to welcome you back."

"But there is one thing you need to know," Ray said. He regretted the next words he would say but knew it had to be done. "Your mother and I are very disappointed in you."

With that being said, Ray and Maya left the room, letting Nya continue packing.

She tried to not listen to anything they were saying, but it was so hard not to. And hearing exactly what they just told her, especially her parents words. And the one word she thought she would never hear them say.

Disappointed.

She could have sat down a moment and cry her eyes out, but she had too much packing to do to get all emotional. She walked out of the room and went down the hall towards the bathroom to get her toothbrush when she heard the sounds of a battle going on in the training room. She opened the door a crack to see Jay practicing on what looked to be the brand new bounty training course. It looked just like the one the monastery had before it burned down.

She could tell Jay was a master at it. He made no mistakes as he jumped off, taking a moment to catch his breath.

Nya opened the door the rest of the way. "Hey, are you alright in here?"

"Oh, yeah, I'm good," Jay said, wiping sweat off his forehead, "It's been a little while since I've done that."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, I don't see why I shouldn't tell you since we're pretty much friends and all. I'm actually more close to you since we've spent a little time together. But I really need to know if you can keep a secret."

"I suppose so. It's not like anyone else is gonna know considering I'm leaving after we get back to the monastery."

"Alright." Jay brought Nya up a little closer and whispered in her ear. "Don't tell anyone else, but I'm also... a ninja."

Nya gasped. "You are? How?"

"Well, I was just like you. Misako found me and brought me here every summer until I discovered my powers at the age of nine. I'm pretty much like Lloyd and Monica. I was brought to the monastery to be trained and homeschooled. How do you think they know my family and I so much?"

"Can I ask what kind of powers you have?"

"I'll show you." Putting his mind in full concentration, Jay's hand began sparking electricity, which brought amazement to Nya's eyes.

"You have powers over electricity?"

"Well, considering that lightning is electricity, then yes."

"Oh, so it's actually lightning. My mistake. It's still really amazing."

"Thanks. Glad to see I was able to cheer you up."

Nya sighed. "I guess you heard about what happened."

"Nya, I've been learning about the destiny of the Yellow Ninja. You haven't been around here long enough to truly understand. I'm pretty sure you know that only a woman with a pure heart and the goodness of light within will become the Yellow Ninja, but there is a secret that only your teachers know. And they passed down that teaching to me and some others as well. I didn't really understand it at first, but I think it's all finally coming together now."

"So what's the secret?"

Jay sighed. "I'll probably get in trouble for telling you this, but it needs to be said. Only the chosen one over the powers of creation will light up the heart of the chosen one over the powers of life. Tell me. Have you met the chosen one of creation?"

"I don't think so. How will I know where to find them?"

"You've been around them this whole time. And I'm sorry to say that every time you've gone near them, they haven't lit up your heart."

"Which means I'm not destined to be the Yellow Ninja after all. Which means I'm not the greatest and I don't deserve to be a ninja."

Jay placed a hand on Nya's shoulder. "Yes, you are. Just because you're not considered the ninja who is destined to defeat the dark queen doesn't mean you don't have an important role. You are the greatest ninja, Nya. You were chosen specifically to control water. Without water, what will nourish the earth? What will satisfy the thirst of everyone? How will rain fall? Without you, the earth would dry up. The world will never revolve around you, but it will need you. You have to put the needs of water first before your own. Just like helping your friends before yourself."

Nya took Jay's words to heart. She knew right then that she was being selfish about the whole fiasco with the Yellow Ninja. It's gone on long enough. Removing her fans from her backside, she knew what she had to do to make things right.

"I'd love to stick around more, but I gotta go," Nya said, "My friends need me." She gave Jay a quick peck on the cheek before rushing off. When she was out of sight, he blushed so hard his face was redder than a tomato.

Nya came up on lower deck and ran down the gangway, hearing her mother's voice call out to her.

"Nya, where are you going?" Maya asked.

Nya smiled. "To make things right." Then she ran off.

Maya smiled, happy to see that her daughter finally put some sense through her own head.

But could it be enough to find her true potential?

**NEXT SCENE:**

The remaining group of heroes were cautious when entering through the gates leading to the Fountain of Life. They sneaked through quietly until they came upon some bushes. Halting them, Wu quietly spotted a hole big enough to where he could see what looked to be at least three or four Serpentine warriors guarding the waterfalls. That was the only way to get to the Fountain of Life.

The old teacher turned to whisper to the others. "The Serpentine must already be down below. There are guards blocking the waterfall. Fortunately, I know another way to get there, but we must remain silent. From here on out, we travel by shadows."

"It's the only way I know how," Valderra said.

The group followed Wu until he led them down to a cave. It wasn't huge, but it was big enough to be a walkway. A short one at that. It wasn't two minutes until they were back out in the light of day, which seemed to be growing darker due to the storm clouds.

From atop the cliff they stood upon, they could see the snakes digging around the fountain, searching restlessly for the fang blade. Wu was finally glad to see Pythor in person. Now he knew what they were truly up against.

Lloyd gasped, pointing down by the waterfall. "Look! There's Zelda."

Valderra took a good long look at her granddaughter. She smiled, seeing how much of a beautiful girl she's become. Besides seeing her look like such a wreck, she was happy and relieved to see her safe. Well, as safe as she can get.

"We must rescue her," Valderra said.

"And we will," Wu said, "For now, we must wait."

They could see Pythor growing frustrated as he and the others were searching. They noticed Scalina actually dive into the fountain and gasped when she picked out what they were looking for.

"Pythor, come quick!" Scalina exclaimed, "I found it!"

Pythor dropped his shovel and quickly jumped inside the fountain, making his way over to his wife as she handed him the third fang blade. "Yes! The third fang blade is ours!" As the Serpentine cheered, he notices a reflection casting on the blade. Taking a closer look, he gasped when he saw it was the ninja. "Ninja! Attack!"

Carol gasped. "Oh, no! We've been spotted!"

"Remember not to use your powers," Wu reminded them, "Light as a leaf. Attack like there is no tomorrow."

"Animal Sorcery!" Carol kept her powers small and turned into a porcupine, jabbing every snake around her with her sharp quills.

"Nature!" Pixal used the nourishment from the waterfall to grow rose bushes, causing the serpents to not be able to pass due to the thorns.

"I may not be able to use me silver weapon, but that doesn't mean I can't attack with some good old fashioned bow and arrows. The Wild!" Kitty summoned thin vines to wrap around her regular bow and arrows, tying up snakes to keep them from attacking. When Selma rushed up to her, she shot only an arrow at her.

But Skales was quick to noticed. "Selma, look out!" He pushed her out of the way only for the arrow to land right in his tail. "Aah!"

"Skales!" Selma shouted.

"Ha!" Kitty laughed, "At least I managed to get one of you!"

Meanwhile, Lloyd was making his way over to Zelda. "Zelda!"

Zelda gasped. "Lloyd! Thank goodness! Please get me out of here!"

"I will. Stand back." Placing his mind in full concentration, Lloyd uses his powers to blast at the lock, opening the door and freeing Zelda. "There you go."

"Oh, thank you, Lloyd!" Zelda would've exited the cage better if she hadn't of bumped into the side. "Ow!" She rubbed the side of her head. "Oh, I wish I had my glasses!"

Lloyd chuckled, taking her glasses out of his bag and placing them over her make-up stained eyes. "Here you go. Better?"

Zelda nodded. "Much better."

The storm tracker in Lloyd's bag started going haywire. Taking a look at the radar, he saw the signal of a hurricane heading straight for them.

"Oh, no," Lloyd said, "We need to get out of here."

A clap of thunder was heard out in the distance.

"Oh, dear," Pythor said, "We must go. Storms like hurricanes can cause this place to be quite unstable. But I can't just leave without leaving the ninja a parting gift. Constrictai warriors, do your thing!"

The Constrictai began digging some holes. Those holes turned into a giant cavern that ended by large rock towers. This caused the ninja, Wu and Valderra to be separated from Lloyd and Zelda.

Carol gasped. "Lloyd and Zelda are trapped!"

"Me teacher, is there any way they can get over here to us?" Kitty asked.

"Perhaps they could slide down and we could use some vines to pull them up," Valderra said.

"We may not have time to search for vines," Pixal said.

"Hold on," Kitty told them, "Give me a moment and I'll make some."

"But your powers will make the storm unstable," Wu warned her.

"We may not have any other choice."

"Yes, you do!" A voice shouted out to the group from above. They looked up to see Nya, holding onto a vine. "You all look like you could use some help down there!"

"Nya!" the girls cheered.

"It looks like she's finally come to her senses," Valderra told Wu.

Wu sighed. "I just hope it will be enough to find her true potential."

Nya took a moment to look over at Pythor, who kept the fang blade in a tight grip as he followed the rest of the tribe out. She smiled behind her hood. "One sec." She swung down and flew past Pythor, snatching the blade from his grasp. "I'll take that!"

Pythor gasped. "No! That fang blade belongs to me!"

"Pythor, we must leave!" Scalina shouted out, "This storm is turning violent!"

Growling, Pythor listens to his wife, vowing to take the fang blade at another time.

Nya cheered while swinging through the sky. "I got it! I got it!"

"Alright!" Carol exclaimed, "Go, Nya!"

Nya began having too much fun and didn't notice how strong the winds were getting. The vine snapped from the wind force, causing her to fall in the giant sand hole.

Everyone gasped. "Nya!"

Nya sat up, showing a huge scratch on her forehead. She saw that when she landed, she was scratched by a seashell. Taking a moment to shake the dizziness away, she looked up at everyone. "I'm okay!" Then she gasped when she saw the fang blade was no longer with her. "The fang blade! I lost it!"

"It's not worth it, Nya!" Zelda shouted out.

"Hold on!" Lloyd called out, "We'll get you out of there!"

But the moment was too late. The waves from the sea were already growing bigger and bigger by the moment, causing a tree to fall right in Lloyd and Zelda's direction. The green ninja pushed himself and Zelda to the other side as the tree landed with a loud boom. The both of them ended up rolling down into the hole with Nya.

Nya rushed to their side. "Are you both alright?"

Lloyd groaned. "Yeah, we'll be fine."

"I'll be fine once we get out of here," Zelda said.

They could tell the storm was only getting worse. With the roaring waves and fierce winds, there was no way they could stay out here any longer.

"We have to save them!" Carol said.

"The island has grown too unstable!" Pixal told her, "We can't stay here any longer! We must leave now!"

"I'm not leaving without my granddaughter!" Valderra said.

"We have no choice!" Wu said, "If we don't leave now, we'll be taken down with the storm."

"No!" Valderra tried to run and jump into the hole, but Wu and Kitty grabbed a hold of her before she could as they began dragging her through the tunnel. "I can't leave without my granddaughter! Zelda!"

Nya looked to see the others finally left. But they still had no way to escape. "Oh, this was a mistake! If I had just stayed behind, none of this would've ever happened! Why must I be so careless?" As Nya's frustration overpowered her, the storm became even more violent.

Zelda saw it and knew what needed to be done. "Nya, you need to calm down. If you don't, the storm will only worsen."

"What?" Nya asked, tears streaming down her eyes.

"I get it now," Lloyd said, "This hurricane wasn't create by nature. It was created by Nya. Because she let negative emotions enter her heart, her powers summoned this violent storm. Nya, you have to think positive."

"I can't!" Nya shouted, "I just can't understand why I haven't found my true potential! I don't know what else to do! I might as well just face the facts! I'm nothing but a failure! All of this is my fault!" She began sobbing right there as the rain came down, the winds sped up and the waves were coming closer and closer.

Zelda placed her hands on Nya's shoulders. "Nya, listen to me. You are not a failure. You are not a quitter. A ninja never quits."

Those words helped Nya open her eyes. When she did, she saw a faint glow surrounding Zelda. She also looked at Lloyd, who gave off a faint green glow. This brought Nya back to her conversation with Jay earlier.

"_...Only the chosen one over the powers of creation will light up the heart of the chosen one over the powers of life..."_

Nya finally opened her eyes, placing a strong determination in her heart to save Lloyd and Zelda from this powerful storm. She stood up and closed her eyes. Looking up, she was the only one oblivious to the giant wave coming right for them.

And she was ready to take it down.

**NEXT SCENE:**

The remaining three ninja, Wu and Valderra were brought up on the Destiny's Bounty. The others were concerned for their safety but were glad they made it back alive. But there were still some worried parents.

"Where's Lloyd?" Misako asked.

"And where's Nya?" Maya asked.

Wu sighed. "I'm sorry. The storm was too violent for the rest of us to remain there. The others were all trapped. We couldn't rescue them in time."

Monica gasped. "The island is gone!"

Everyone looked to see that Monica was right. But the island wasn't technically gone. It was only underwater. That didn't make things better, though.

If the island was underwater, than so were Lloyd, Zelda and Nya.

Misako began to cry, clutching her husband as he didn't hesitate to let a tear or two flow freely. Maya did the same with Ray, while Kai only placed his head in his hands, letting sadness take over his heart. Valderra only looked on, hoping a miracle would happen.

Then a roar of water was heard.

Two walls of water were formed, clearing the island completely. Standing in the midst of it were the three who everyone thought were lost, protected inside of an air bubble. Lloyd and Zelda were then brought up to the Destiny's Bounty by a separate bubble. It popped once it reached the safety of the flying vessel.

A sapphire blue light glowed and began floating up to the bounty. Everyone could already guess who it was.

"It's Nya!" Kitty shouted out.

"She found her true potential!" Carol exclaimed.

Nya gracefully placed herself on the bounty, lowering down her mask to show her smile. Then exhaustion began to take over and she would've fallen on the ground if her father hadn't of caught her in time.

After taking a few minutes to get settled and start up the bounty to head for home, Valderra and Zelda finally saw each other face to face and didn't hesitate to hug one another as if they've known each other forever.

"I can't believe it," Zelda said, "All these years I have always hoped to meet you. Now I finally have."

"I'm so glad to finally meet you as well, Zelda," Valderra said, "I see you've gained some of our family's knowledge. I can tell you love to explore by what Wu has told me."

"I apologize for my appearance. This wasn't exactly how I pictured meeting you for the first time. I was hoping to see my sister again."

"I'm afraid Marga is too busy ruling the Underworld in my place. But I'm here now. And I will stay here for as long as you want me to."

Zelda smiled. "May I ask you something?"

"You already have, but yes. Go ahead."

"Why is it that you have four arms?"

"Well, at least we know she'll be alright," Kitty said.

"Hey, what about me?" Lloyd asked.

"Aw, nobody could ever forget you, Lloyd," Carol said, "I'm glad that everyone's safe."

"I believe we have Nya to thank for that," Valderra said.

"But there is something I still don't understand," Pixal said, turning to face Nya, "How did you survive? How did you discover the key to unlocking your powers?"

"Well, I sort of had an epiphany," Nya said, "I realized that nobody is the greatest hero. There's something within all of us that makes us special. Zelda actually told me that a ninja never quits. It opened my eyes to reality. The world doesn't revolve around me, but water does. And I have to do whatever it takes to help keep it in balance. I realize that my destiny was chosen for me to become the water ninja. I have to think of others before myself, just like how water thinks of taking care of us all. And I have Zelda to thank. When she told me that a ninja never quits, I saw her glow. And then I saw that all the training I've gone through wasn't preparing me or any of us to become the Yellow Ninja. It was... to protect her."

Everyone's eyes were set on Zelda, who gave everyone a bewildered look. "Why are you all looking at me like that?"

"That means..." Lloyd started to say, but then he and Carol collect the silver weapons, placing them in front of Zelda.

They began to levitate and circle around Zelda, letting off a yellow light as bright as the sun. Everyone knew what that meant.

"Zelda is the Yellow Ninja," Wu said, "Only a woman with a pure heart and the goodness of light within will become the Yellow Ninja. Now I understand when you said Zelda began to glow."

"After so long of searching, we finally found her," Misako said.

"Everything the scrolls have stated all make sense," Garmadon explained, "Not only have you four been chosen to protect the silver weapons, but also to protect the Chosen One." Once he finished, the weapons landed on the floor.

"Also known as the Mistress of Life," Lloyd said, "Just like I'm known as the Master of Creation." Everyone looked at Lloyd for a moment. He shrugged nonchalantly. "You all were gonna figure it out sooner or later."

Valderra sighed, looking close to tears. "I feared this day for a long time. The battle lines have been drawn. Sadly, my family has now become more divided. And this is only the beginning. I had once fought with the people I care about. Now I fight against them. It was friend vs. friend, but now it is grandmother vs. granddaughter."

"I wish there was another way around this, my old friend," Misako said, "But I'm afraid there isn't."

"Destiny has spoken, Mimi. All I ask is that you train Zelda to fight against me."

The room was silent for a moment to let everything sink in until Nya cleared her throat.

"I don't mean to change the subject, but there's something I need to say," Nya said, "I just wanna apologize for the way I acted earlier. I'm sorry." Then with tears streaming down her face, she ran up to Misako and held her tightly. "Please take me back! I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused! I promise it will never happen again! I'll never try to quit the team again! Just please take me back!" She sobbed as she spoke.

"Nya, of course we'll take you back," Misako said, "We all knew you would change your mind. It was just a matter of thinking. After some time we knew you would come to your senses."

Wiping the tears from her eyes, Nya smiled. "Thanks. And I'm sorry for losing the fang blade. There's still one more out there, though. We just need to find it."

"Speaking of the fang blade, I wonder what happened to the one we just lost," Carol said.

Let's see what happened to it indeed.

**NEXT SCENE:**

Back on the island of the Waves of the West, the waters have finally dispersed and the land was no longer in the ocean. The Serpentine trekked the island until Pythor spotted the fang blade trapped in some seaweed. Picking it up, he handed it to a couple of snake warriors.

"It's as beautiful as I imagined," Pythor said, "Clean it off, boys. Because we've only got one more to go."

Uh, oh.

Three down, one to go.

**NEXT SCENE:**

That evening, the Destiny's Bounty landed back on the Mountain of Impossible Heights. Kai and Nya had said their goodbyes to their parents as the two started making their way back home to Ignacia. Jay was helping his father, Ed Walker, place everything in the back of the truck. When he spotted Nya, he decided that now was the best time to talk to her again before it was time to settle down for the night.

"Hey, Nya," Jay said, "Congratulations on finding your true potential. I knew you could find it."

Nya smiled. "Thanks, Jay. I have to admit, though. You were actually one of the main people to help me find it."

"What do you mean?"

"All those things you said earlier. How I am the greatest ninja because of what I am destined to do. If I never have control of water, it will never be able to take care of us. You helped me realize that. Oh, and I'm sorry about pecking you on the cheek like that. It was my way of saying thank you."

"Well, to be honest, I actually kind of liked it. But I would like it even more if..." Jay stopped, tapping his fingers together nervously.

"Yes?"

Jay took a deep breath. "Well, I was wondering... if you wouldn't mind... hanging out with me. You know, once all this is over."

"Like a date?" Nya blushed.

"Yeah, that's actually the better way to put it, I guess."

"Sure. I'd love to. I'll let you know when things start settling down."

"Okay, sounds great."

The car horn to Jay's truck honked as his father poked his head out through the window. "Come on, son. We better hit the road so we can make it home in time for dinner. I don't wanna miss out on your mom's famous chicken pot pie."

Jay chuckled nervously. "I'll be right there." He turned to face Nya. "I better get going. I'll see you around."

"Same here," Nya said.

As Jay left, Nya stood there, watching as lightning master and his father drove off down the dusty road.

This turned out to be the greatest day of Nya Smith's life.

And she can only hope that it'll get even better...

* * *

**HOORAY! NYA DIDN'T QUIT THE TEAM! ZELDA IS THE YELLOW NINJA! AND NYA AND JAY ARE GONNA "HANG OUT" AS THEY LIKE TO PUT IT!**

**NO, IT'S A DATE! IT'S TOTALLY A DATE!**

**SO WE FINALLY SOLVED SOME SECRETS, BUT THERE'S PLENTY MORE WHERE THAT CAME FROM.**

**OKAY, GUYS. DON'T FORGET TO SPOT THE DIFFERENCE OR TELL ME WHAT YOUR FAVORITE PART IS IN THE REVIEWS.**

**THANKS TO ALL THE READERS AND REVIEWERS OUT THERE. YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME!**

**NO NEED TO WORRY, GUYS. WE ARE STILL GETTING THROUGH THIS. THINGS ARE GETTING BACK OUT THERE LITTLE BY LITTLE, BUT WE WILL GET BETTER. LET'S JUST PRAY EVERY NIGHT. BECAUSE GOD CARES ABOUT ALL OF US.**

**HOPE THIS CHAPTER WAS GOOD.**

**PLEASE REVIEW.**


	21. S1 E21: Battle Plans Against A Snake

S1 E21

BATTLE PLANS AGAINST A SNAKE

Ah, nighttime in the city. All is calm and all is peaceful.

But, as the old saying goes, peace never last.

A Fangpyre warrior pants heavily and is running through a dark alley. He tries to run in different directions, but is cornered by none other than the ninja. And they were blocking every part of him, from the front, sides and behind.

And it didn't help matters that the girls pointed their weapons in his face.

"Where do you think you're going?" Kitty asked.

"Like I'll tell you," the warrior said.

"You thought you could take a joyride through town without anyone noticing you," Carol said, "That's kind of hard to do since you're a snake. Now tell us where the last fang blade is!"

"Uh... I-I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Don't play dumb," Nya said in a nasally voice, "We're talking about the fourth fang blade. When Pythor finds them all, he plans to unleash the Great Devourer."

The Fangpyre gave them an evil chuckle. "Oh, that fang blade. Well, you're too late. Pythor's already there now. He's probably already digging it up. If I were you, I'd start preparing for the worst, because when the Great Devourer is awakened, there will be nothing it won't consume!"

"Won't that mean it'll consume you too?" Pixal asked.

The warrior takes a moment to absorb the information given to him before becoming downright fearful. "Please, you have to stop him! That snake is crazy! I don't wanna unleash the Great Devourer! I'm a snake, not food!"

Nya coughed. "Is it really too late to stop Pythor from getting the last fang blade?"

"You're days behind him. There's gotta be something else you can do!"

Well, when there's a will, there's a way.

**NEXT SCENE:**

The ninja returned later that night to the bounty, reporting everything they learned to the rest of the team. Lloyd and Kai are hard at work locating the location of the last fang blade on the main computer. When they spotted its location, they were given the truth a second time.

"Looks like that Fangpyre warrior was telling the truth," Kai said, "By the time we set sail clear across the other side of Ninjago, Pythor will have already beat us to the last fang blade."

"Oh, if only I hadn't of lost the last one," Nya groaned. Then she sneezed in Kitty's direction.

"Hey!" Kitty yelled out, "Cover it up next time!"

"Let's stay focused on the main subject here," Lloyd told everyone.

"Okay, let's think about this," Carol said, "This is the last fang blade. We have to get it. But how?"

Everyone took a moment to ponder about what to do when Zelda gasped, grabbing everyone's attention.

"I may have an idea, but this one is far different," Zelda said, "All we have to do is just get one fang blade to stop the Serpentine. What if we take back the other three? Pythor wouldn't risk having them all on him. He's probably hidden them somewhere while he goes for the fourth. Then we could take that one from him and have them all in our possession."

"It's so simple," Kitty said, "Why couldn't I think of that?"

"Because of all that red hair," Nya said.

"Girls, focus," Carol said, turning back to look at everyone, "But it's not going to be that easy to get the fang blades."

"That is correct," Pixal said, "My algorithms suggest taking the other three would be far more dangerous. Pythor would undoubtedly have them protected by his top generals. So in order to take them, we will have to fight."

"At least this time I won't have to hold back," Nya said while sneezing, "I can actually go out and fight."

"But there's one thing you're all forgetting," Valderra said, sitting behind everyone in the darkest part of the room, "If you were able to actually steal the other three fang blades, you still don't even know where they are."

"Valderra is right," Wu said, "For the past few weeks, there have been almost no Serpentine sightings."

"So how in all of Ninjago are they moving around?" Garmadon asked, "It's like they're ghosts."

"Or they're just being snakes," Misako said.

"Exactly," Lloyd said, turning to face the computer, "Bridge, give me a sonar sweep of Ninjago."

The computer takes a moment to scan the map, but shows no sign of Serpentine activity.

"Nothing's showing up," Kai said, "It's just like what your dad said. They're basically traveling like ghosts."

Lloyd sighed. "You seriously know nothing about snakes. The sonar isn't showing them traveling above ground. You have to remember that snakes burrow. Watch this. Bridge, give me a sonar sweep of Ninjago twenty feet below surface."

The computer forms a holographic version of the map on the work table, scanning underground and finding tunnels that the Serpentine have taken.

"Oh, me goodness," Kitty said, "All the tombs have been interconnected to make one massive underground fortress."

"I can't believe it was right under our noses this whole time," Carol said.

"Actually, they have been right under our feet," Pixal said.

Carol rolled her eyes. "Way to state the obvious, Pixal."

Rubbing her temples, Nya took a close look at the map and points straight at the middle. "There! That's the most protected area. The fang blades must be held there."

"Then let's stop talking and take action," Garmadon said, "Lloyd, set the course."

"Already on it, Dad." Lloyd began setting up the course through the computer. "We should be there by sunup."

So the team sleep through the night. Well, they tried their best. But because of Nya's terrible head cold, they could hardly sleep because of her loud snoring. They had woke up after what felt like only a couple of hours of sleep to begin preparing for their mission. Their teachers watched as they prepare for battle, guiding them along the way.

"There is no room for error in this upcoming battle," Wu began, "The Serpentine have shown that they have great powers, and to combat them, you must turn their greatest strengths into their greatest weaknesses."

"Nya, you are first," Misako said, "Show us how you will defeat the Hypnobrai."

Nya coughs and pulls a blindfold down over her eyes. "Their hypnotizing powers are useless if their opponent can fight without relying on his or her eyes."

"Excellent," Garmadon said, "Kitty, the Fangpyre is fast and his bite sharp. How will you weaken him?"

"Simple," Kitty said, tapping the armor on her arms, "If he can't bite through your skin, he can't turn you into one of them."

"Good," Wu said, "Carol, the Constrictai are strong." He pulls a lever and traps Carol in a net, squeezing her in a tight grip. "And they will not let go. What will you do?"

Carol struggled a bit, but calmed herself and stood still. "Well, instead of fighting back, one must try to loosen up." She wriggles out of the net peacefully, freeing herself. "Always thinking happy thoughts help."

"Wonderful," Misako said, "Pixal, the venom of the Venomari can make you see things. Cloud your perception. Distract you to keep you from fighting."

"Then I will use my new Robin Vision," Pixal said, activating her new visionary ability to see through the Robin's eyes.

Wu smiled. "Very good. We have trained you well. You are all ready."

"What about all of you, my teachers?" Nya asked, "Will you fight with us? We need all the help we can get." She let out another sneeze in Kitty's direction.

The wild ninja gave a look of disgust. "You got that right."

"I apologize to say that Garmadon is concerned that his old bones cannot keep up," Wu said.

"That was your concern, you old coot!" Garmadon argued.

Misako cleared her throat to keep an argument from erupting. "Even though we won't be there to fight by your side, we will still be there in spirit."

"Attention, everyone," Kai announced over the intercom, "We're arriving at the Mountain of a Million Steps. You all might want to see this sight."

They all looked down to see piles of dirt all over the place. Looks like those snakes have been busy playing around in the dirt.

"Whoa," Carol said, "Take a look at all that dirt. It makes me wanna pour water all over it, transform into a piggy and roll around in the mud."

"I'm wondering what those snakes are up to," Lloyd said.

"Oh, I wish I could go down there with you guys," Monica said, "I just wish I could fight."

"I'm sorry, Monica," Wu said, "This battle will be too dangerous. You will remain here on the bounty where it's safe."

Monica groaned. "Fine. I'll be in my room." She trudges off down below deck.

"I wonder what Zelda will look like in her new kimono uniform," Carol said, "This will be her first ever battle as the Yellow Ninja."

"Actually, I think I'll stay aboard the ship," Zelda said, coming down from the bridge.

Carol gasped. "What?! But you have to come! You're a part of the team!"

"It's not that I don't want to. You all must remember that I am the Yellow Ninja who will stop darkness from taking over Ninjago. My destiny lies in the future. Today's battle is not my fight."

"You took the words right out of my mouth," Misako said, "No need to worry, Zelda. We'll be here to keep you company."

"Actually, I have a surprise for the three of you," Lloyd said. He presses a button on a remote, revealing a three seated mech that came with all different types of gears and weapons. There was even a place for Wu to set his teapot and cup in so he wouldn't have to hold on to it. Lloyd smiles. "Do you like it?"

"What is it?" Garmadon asked.

"Well, you all were concerned that you couldn't keep up so Lloyd, Pixal and Nya created a mech for you guys to ride in so you can come along on missions," Kai said, "What do you think?"

"I think..." Wu ran over to grab the middle seat. "Shotgun!"

"No fair!" Garmadon groaned, "Why do you always get the better seat?"

"Because I'm the youngest."

Misako sighed. "Boys."

"Don't remind me," Valderra said, "I will remain here on the bounty with Zelda and Monica. I don't enjoy saying this but...good luck."

The ninja lower down a rope, silently making their way over to the entrance of the mountain. Everyone looked to see that the entrance was not guarded, much to their surprise.

"I'm not complaining or anything, but I thought you said this place would be heavily guarded, Pixal," Kitty said.

"You must forgive me," Pixal said, "Even Nindroidettes make mistakes. Nobody's perfect."

Nya sneezed, startling everyone out of their wits. She groaned. "Ugh! Stupid head cold!"

"You sure you don't wanna sit this one out, sis?" Kai asked, "You're more than welcome to."

"No, I'll be fine. I'm not gonna let a little head cold get in the way of me being able to fight."

"Your choice," Kitty shrugged, "Come on."

They walk up to the mountain, spotting pictures of what looked to be them drawn on the wall. From the looks of them, it seems as though the Serpentine were more than happy to mock them.

"Well these don't look very nice," Carol said, "If they were drawing portraits of us, they might as well get the details right."

"I don't think that's what they were aiming for, Carol," Kitty said.

"Regardless, they could've at least remembered my purple highlight." Carol goes up to rub the pictures off the wall when it opens up by itself, revealing what looked to be a hidden passageway. She chuckled nervously. "No need to worry. I meant to do that."

They quietly crept through the passage, stopping and hiding in the shadows when they heard the voices of the Serpentine generals inside the inner sanctum.

"So, what happens when the-Great Devourer is unleashed?" Fangtom asked, "Will it really-consume everything?"

Skalidor chuckled wickedly. "I hope so, if only to teach the surface dwellers a lesson for locking us underground for so many years. Who knows? Maybe we can lock them underground."

"Who knows if the legend is even true or not?" Acidicus told them, "I for one am curious to see what happens."

They saw a different shadow appear with the voice belonging to Skales. "Keep alert for the ninja, boys. Pythor should be back soon."

Once the generals slithered off, the heroes decided that now was the time to reach their main base.

Nya cleared her throat. "Since every snake in each tribe is in there, there will be too many to deal with at once. I say we travel by shadow."

"I agree," Wu said, "We're right behind you."

The ninja knew that this was it. All they can hope for was for this to be their final battle with the Serpentine.

Hope is such a strong word.

**NEXT SCENE:**

Back on the bounty, Zelda was keeping an eye out for the ninja in case they return. She decided to see what Monica was up to since the young twelve year old girl had been sitting quietly for a while. Knocking on her door, Monica rushed up and opened it, glad to see that it was only Zelda.

"What's up?" Monica asked.

"I just wanted to come by and make sure you were okay," Zelda said.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Still ticked off that I can't fight, but I'm making the most of my time. I'm actually just about done with jotting down my novel ideas. Once I get them finished, I'll share them with you."

"That would be wonderful. I can't wait to hear them."

"Same here. Bye." Monica quickly shut the door.

Deciding that Monica would be fine on her own, Zelda went up to the bridge, where she found her grandmother typing on the main computer. She gasped when she heard the monitor say it was "transferring files."

"Grandmother!" Zelda shouts, "Are you stealing information?"

Valderra turns around and gasped. "Oh, Zelda! It's not what it looks like!"

"The computer just said aloud that you were transferring files, meaning your looking up information about my friends! They're out there right now risking their lives to save Ninjago, and you go behind their backs to gain an advantage! Why are you doing this?!"

Valderra sighs. "I'm sorry, Zelda, but I can't help it. Ever since the Devourer bit me, evil runs through my blood. And because your sister was the firstborn granddaughter, it runs through hers as well."

"Grandfather said you left shortly after you had my father. Where exactly did you go that made you into the woman you are now?"

"Sweetheart, there are places in this world void of any good. Dark places. Places I would never allow Marga to go to, no matter how dark of heart she is."

"I have a feeling that this dark place is where Wu found you."

Valderra nodded. "Yes. And the only reason I went there is because I want nothing more than to have the silver weapons in my possession. And that same place Wu found me in allowed me the power to possess them."

"There's still something I don't understand. Why didn't you ever come back? Why didn't Marga come with you? I could've been able to save her. I know there has to be a way."

Valderra placed her hands on Zelda's shoulders. "Zelda, everyone, man or woman, has a choice to grow up to be whoever they want to be. But I never had that choice because I was bitten. Evil runs through my veins. I'm sorry to say that Marga was born with darkness in her heart. There is a reason for that, but in time you will learn why that is. I must say that I am glad you have a choice to do whatever you put your mind to. I hate the fact that Marga has no choice but to be like me, but I'm glad you don't have to. Wu has a plan for you and I trust that he will make sure you will stop me one day because that is the call that will lead us to our destiny. I wish it didn't have to end like this, but once I finish helping the ninja stop Pythor, I'll need to leave. The next time we see one another, we will be enemies."

Zelda throws her grandmothers hands off her. "Then maybe you should just walk away right now and never return!"

Valderra gasped. "Zelda..."

"No, I mean it! I thought maybe there was a way I could try to help you and Marga, but it seems as though I've done nothing but waste my time! You will never return to the side of good! I was too blind to realize it, but now I see the truth! Go back to whatever evil place you came from! You don't belong here!"

Static noises were heard as Kai was trying to communicate through the main computer. "All right, here's what happened. Operation Stealth was a total bust. We're gonna need reinforcements. Anyone there? Anyone at all?"

Valderra reaches out to try and communicate back, but Zelda stops her before she can touch anything.

"We don't want your help, and we don't need you here," Zelda said sternly, "It would've been better if you never showed up at all. I would be happier if you just left."

Valderra sighs. "If you truly feel that way, then maybe it will be for the best. I'll just be on my way." She walks out of the room.

Zelda hurriedly types on the computer, hoping to help the team somehow. "No need to worry, everyone. I'll try to help you. Just hang in there."

Hurry, Zelda. You must do something. They're counting on you.

**NEXT SCENE:**

Meanwhile, back inside the mountain, the ninja now have no choice but to fight the snakes. They wouldn't have gotten caught if Nya hadn't of sneezed so loud, but it wouldn't have matter. It was inevitable to even attempt not to have to fight.

Kai was still trying to get in touch with the bounty, but he's gotten nothing but static on the other end.

"Zelda, can you hear me?" he asked through the device, "Can anyone read me?" He groaned. "I'm getting nothing. Nobody must be in the room."

"Forget about it," Garmadon said, "We have no choice but to fight back. Ninja, show them what you've learned."

Carol goes up against Skalidor, who didn't hesitate to trap her in a tight grip.

"I've always wanted to make you my main squeeze," Skalidor said, squeezing the breath out of Carol.

But the wielder of animal sorcery remembered what to do if she was ever in a tight situation with the Constrictai. She takes a calm breath. "I must relax. Must think loose thoughts." She easily frees herself from Skalidor's grip.

The Constrictai general gasped. "What?"

Carol laughs. "Yes! Ninja Go!" She uses her spinjitzu to blow away Skalidor and a few other warriors in the way.

Nya runs through the crowd, using her water powers to splash away snake warriors when she bumps into Skales.

Skales chuckles evilly. "There's nowhere to run. You're surrounded, wielder of water." His eyes began swirling around. "Perhaps you can now do our bidding."

But Nya was quick to close her eyes, rendering Skales' powers of hypnosis useless. "Must not look. Ninja, Go!" She uses spinjitzu on Skales and his lackeys with her eyes shut. "Oh, I wish I could see me now, because you all just got Nya'd!" Then she sneezed, which made the waves powerful enough to wash away her enemies.

On the other side of the battlefield, while Kitty was shooting her arrows at various warriors, one of Fangtom's heads sneaks up behind the wild ninja and bites onto the armor she had on her arms. His teeth hit metal and he screams as his fangs are filled with pain.

Kitty turns around and laughs. "What's the matter? Can't stand the taste of defeat? I'm happy to know." She points an arrow at him. "Now get out of me sight." He runs away in fear.

"Alright!" Kai cheers, "That was awesome!"

Kitty giggles, blushing a bit. "Thanks. It's what I do."

"I apologize for interrupting the lovebirds, but I must remind you that we have fang blades to capture," Pixal told them. Then one of the Venomari warriors comes up and sprays venom in her eyes, causing her to see everyone as giant pieces of food. But she remembers her training. "Switching to Robin Vision." The Robin immediately begins flying around Pixal, allowing the mistress of nature to continue fighting.

Nya and Carol ran through the crowd and spotted the first three fang blades sitting on a pillar in the middle of the battlefield.

"Look!" Carol said, "The fang blades! Would you like to have the honors, Nya?"

"After you," Nya said.

"Yay!" Carol rushes up to the fang blades, but before she can reach out to grab them, a chain traps her hand quicker than the speed of wind. "Not yay! It's a trap!"

The heroes all get trapped in the middle of the battlefield as a giant cage drops above them, trapping them like birds.

Slithering up to the front of the crowd was Pythor, who held what looked like the last missing fang blade in his scaly hands. "Well, what do you know? Can this get any better? Seriously, they fell right into my trap."

"Oh, this is bad," Nya said, sneezing, "Where is Zelda when you need her?"

Where is Zelda indeed?...

* * *

**HEY, GUYS! **

**SORRY IF THIS CHAPTER IS A LITTLE SHORT, BUT I PROMISE THE NEXT CHAPTER WON'T BE THAT WAY. PLUS THE LAST TWO CHAPTERS WILL BE LONGER SINCE I PLAN TO PLACE IN THE ENTIRE EPISODES OF THE LAST TWO EPISODES OF THE FIRST SEASON. **

**SO NYA HAS A HEAD COLD, ZELDA HAS REALIZED THAT SHE CAN'T CHANGE HER GRANDMOTHER'S HEART, AND NOW THE NINJA ARE TRAPPED BY THE SERPENTINE WHO NOW HAVE ALL FOUR FANG BLADES. SO MUCH CRAZINESS.**

**ANYWAY, DON'T FORGET TO SPOT THE DIFFERENCE OR JUST TELL ME WHAT YOUR FAVORITE PART WAS IN THE REVIEWS.**

**SPECIAL THANKS TO ALL THE READERS AND REVIWERS. YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!**

**HOPE THIS STORY IS GIVING EVERYONE SOMETHING TO DO. I ENJOY WRITING IT FOR YOU GUYS AND I AM SAD TO SAY THAT IT WON'T BE TOO LONG BEFORE IT COMES TO AN END. **

**PRAYING FOR EVERYONE EVERYWHERE. HOPE YOU GUYS ARE STAYING SAFE AND HEALTHY.**

**WELL, I'VE GOT A COUPLE OF THINGS TO FINISH UP BEFORE I HIT THE HAY, SO I'LL BE GOING NOW.**

**HOPE THIS CHAPTER WAS GOOD.**

**PLEASE REVIEW.**


	22. S1 E22: The Battle for The Fang Blades

S1 E22

THE BATTLE FOR THE FANG BLADES

The bounty was completely silent.

It was as if nobody was there.

But Zelda was.

She makes her way back on the bridge, wearing her brand new yellow kimono uniform. Unlike the other ninja, hers was more plain with a dark golden dragon and a yellow sash tied around her waist. But what made it stand out were the shimmering glitter sparkles decorated on the shoulders.

The perfect uniform for the perfect ninja.

"Here I am," Zelda told herself, "I, Zelda Allyman, the Yellow Ninja, am here to save the day."

It wasn't too long before Monica rushed up into the bridge. "Zelda? What's going on?"

Zelda pulled the hood up over the lower half of her face. "Come help me."

The two rushed over to the main computer while Kai was still trying to get in touch with them. "Valderra? Zelda? Monica? Is anyone there?"

"Kai, it's us," Zelda said, "Monica and I are here. I apologize to say that my grandmother isn't upon the bounty anymore." She begins to hear static, but still does her best to make sure they're okay. "Are you all okay? What's going on?"

Inside the Mountain of a Million Steps, the heroes are trapped inside a cage which has been lifted up off the ground. They were also without their weapons which have been chained up as well.

Kai manages to throw a rock at his samurai attire's helmet, clearing the static so he could communicate better with Zelda and Monica. "We're fine for now, but we're a little held up at the moment. Our weapons have been taken, and we're locked in a giant cage."

Carol takes a look down below, watching as Pythor sets the fourth fang blade with the others safely on a pillar. "And Pythor's returned with the fourth fang blade. Any moment now he'll start heading back to Ouroboros to unleash the Great Devourer."

"Zelda, where did your grandmother go?" Garmadon asked.

Zelda sighed, knowing the truth can never stay hidden. "I told her to leave and to never return. I had no choice. She was trying to steal secrets from you all. I couldn't let that happen."

Nya sneezes. "Ha! That's a pretty big surprise. I told you about that woman, but none of you wouldn't listen. I tried to warn you."

Kitty groaned. "Ugh! Alright, we get it! You were right the whole time!"

"It was wrong of me to think that I could ever try to change her heart for the better," Zelda said, "Her heart belongs in the darkness. So I told her to return from whence she came. But there's no need to worry. I can help you."

"No, Zelda," Misako said, "You're not fully ready. I know you have fighting skills, but your destiny is too great to risk."

"Uh, me teacher, I hate to break it to you, but if we don't get out of here before Pythor unleashes the Great Devourer, I'm afraid to say that this will be the end of all our destinies," Kitty said.

"You have to give her a chance," Carol said, "She's our only hope."

"But I won't be going alone," Zelda said, "I'm bringing Monica with me."

"NO!" Sensei Wu cried out.

"Daddy, she'll need all the help she can get," Monica said, "Just give me a chance."

"I said no! I will not allow you to fight!"

That outburst broke Monica's heart. She clenched her fist, but it did no good. He couldn't see her through a communication device. With tears welling up in her eyes, she rushed out of the bridge and headed straight for her room.

Zelda sighed. "Looks like I'm on my own. Not to worry, everyone. I'll have you all out of there faster than a maiden reading Good Woman. And that's an extremely long book." She opens up the weapons cabinet, but before she could grab anything, it all started falling down on top of her, making her fall down as well. "Oh, that's going to leave a mark."

No need to worry. Everyone falls down. Just don't forget that a ninja always picks themselves up when they're down.

**NEXT SCENE:**

Cheering and shouting could be heard as the Serpentine were busy celebrating. They finally felt unstoppable now that they have all the fang blades.

But nobody was more happier than Pythor himself. "Together, we have taken back the four fang blades. When we return them to the City of Ouroboros, together we will unleash the Great Devourer!" He paused a moment to let the snake warriors cheered before finally deciding to depart from the mountain. "To the City of Ouroboros!"

But the warriors weren't ready to unleash the Great Devourer at that exact moment. They wanted to celebrate their victory first.

"But we spent so much time digging this underground fortress," one of the warriors said, "It'd be a shame not to use it a little bit more. I suggest we have a party to celebrate this moment."

"I agree," Acidicus nodded, "At least let us celebrate in capturing the ninja."

"It wouldn't hurt to have a little fun," Skales said.

Scalina slithered up to her husband. "Pythor, my love. If you give them this victory today, we will use tomorrow to return the blades to Ouroboros. I promise that no one will let their guard down. Besides, there's no way the ninja can escape. They're trapped like birds."

Pythor chuckled, then sighed lovingly at his wife. "Oh, I can't say no to you." He turns back towards the crowd. "You all ask for a celebration, then I will give you one! We will celebrate with a slither pit!"

The Serpentine cheer once more as they began to set up for a battle.

Meanwhile, up in the cage above the snakes, the heroes are sitting around, waiting for help to arrive. Some take the time to catch up on a little something. Pixal begins to meditate, Carol starts reading a book with Theodore clutched tightly around her arm, Kai and Lloyd begin playing a game of checkers, Misako and Garmadon talk among themselves, Wu sits down to rest his legs, Kitty watches down on the battle below, and Nya takes out a couple of blankets, using one as a pillow and another one to cover her body.

Kai sighed. "Really, Nya?"

Nya coughed. "Might as well. As long as we're here, I at least need to sleep off this stupid head cold." She lies down and closes her eyes.

Kitty rolls her eyes, then sighs. "So all we can do is wait? I'm more of a person who can lose her patience pretty easily."

"But patience is all we have left," Wu said, "Zelda will figure something out. We must have faith in her."

"Zelda is only one person. She can't do it on her own. What was the point of not letting Monica help her? I thought she was trained to fight."

"I have my reasons."

"You've always got a reason for everything. We can't even depend on Valderra because of how her mindset is. I'd say we figure a way out of here on our own. How hard can it be? Just because we don't have our weapons doesn't mean we can't use our powers. We just need to focus." Kitty tries to use her powers, but is surprised to see that they won't work at all. "That's odd. Why aren't me powers working?"

"Looks like someone hasn't been paying attention in our history lessons," Misako said, "Do you remember when I was teaching you all about vengestone?"

"Oh, yeah, I remember," Kitty nodded, "It's some sort of rock that can... uh... make your powers grow stronger. I think that's right."

Misako shook her head. "That is the complete opposite of what I said. Vengestone is a mysterious rock substance that can disable Elemental Powers. This entire cage was built out of vengestone. Our powers are rendered useless. So until we are rescued, there is not much that we can do."

Kitty clenched her fist, but then she saw a bottle of Kai's hair gel sticking out of his backpack. She ran over and grabbed it. "I need this."

"Hey," Kai said, "That's the only bottle I got. I'm only down to half a tube."

"Well, we all gotta make sacrifices," Kitty told him, "I've got a plan to get us out of here." She squeezes the hair gel in her hand and starts slathering it on her kimono gi.

"Eww," Carol said, "Why are you rubbing that gooey snot stuff all over you? That's just disgusting. Warn us next time before you do that."

Kitty rolled her eyes. "Think what you want, but I don't think we need our special powers to get out of here. Just a little ingenuity." She tosses the bottle aside and begins placing herself in between the bars. She carefully slides right through and frees herself from the cage, clinging onto a chain. "Yes."

Carol gasped. "You did it."

"Incredible," Pixal said.

"I can't believe that actually worked," Kai said, "Looks like hair gel can be used for more than creating the perfect spikes."

"So now what?" Carol asked.

"Now we quietly sneak over to get our weapons," Kitty said while slowly climbing down a chain.

She watched down below to make sure no one spotted her. The Serpentine were pretty much distracted by their slither pit battle which gave Kitty a chance to start swinging over to her bow and arrows. But she couldn't do it on her own.

"It's working," Kai said.

Nya sneezed. "She can't do it alone. Come on. Let's help by throwing our own weight around."

Everyone in the cage started running from one side to another, which sort of felt like a game of taking a bean bag from one side and running to the other side to set it in the basket. But instead of doing that, they were pushing one side of the cage and ran over to push the other side. The more force they gave it, the closer Kitty got to her weapon.

"Just a little more," Kitty said.

After giving it one more push, Kitty jumped off the chain and grasped the one holding her weapon. But it was also that moment when she saw Pythor staring right at her.

"Well, what do we have here?" Pythor said, "Trying to escape, are we?"

Kitty chuckled nervously, but remained calm. "I know this looks kind of bad, doesn't it, but you must understand that-"

"Looks like I'll need to take drastic measures." Pythor took the wild ninja by the hand.

A few minutes later, Pythor had them all chained by the wrists to the bars. And to make matters even worse, the wrist chains were made out of vengestone. Looks like Pythor wasn't playing around anymore. There was just no way to trick him.

"I guess I shouldn't have tried that idea at all," Kitty said.

"I'll say," Kai said, "You basically wasted a handful of my hair gel."

"We're pretty much in such a better place than we were before," Nya said sarcastically.

"That is incorrect, Nya," Pixal said, "Due to the fact that we are now chained up, we are in a far worse state."

Nya rolled her eyes. "Way to state the obvious, Pixal."

"I liked it better when we were just waiting patiently," Carol said, "I was just getting to the good part in my book."

"And I was winning at checkers," Kai said, "I was gonna be kinged."

Lloyd sighed, bowing his head. "Great Sensei, I have faith that Zelda will come to our rescue. Please lead her through a successful mission."

Let's hope the Great Sensei answers his prayers.

**NEXT SCENE:**

Outside the Mountain of a Million Steps, Zelda is climbing up a rocky side using a grappling hook and some rope. She knew doing something like this was crazy dangerous, especially without the proper safety gear, but at this moment the fate of Ninjago was resting on her shoulders. Those were thoughts she hoped not to think about until the future, but the present can make people think such thoughts, especially when that person is the savior who will keep the lights on in Ninjago.

Zelda was literally breaking a sweat, but she had no plans on quitting. "Come on, Zelda. You've been taking rock climbing lessons since you were seven years old. This is no different than what you've been doing on a plastic replica of a mountain."

After a tremendous amount of strength and sweat, Zelda finally made it to the top. Taking a deep breath, she sticks her head through the entrance, waving to the others.

The first to notice her was Lloyd, who gasped. "Look up there. It's Zelda."

Once they all saw her, Zelda lowered down the rope and tied one end of it around a rock. Now all she needed was some self encouragement. "Alright, Zelda. You can do this. You are the Yellow Ninja. You have what it takes, with or without powers." She grabbed the rope and started to quietly climb down. But just as she was doing so, what she didn't see was a sword flying by and cutting the rope, causing Zelda to fall the rest of the way down and landing in the slither pit.

The Serpentine stared at her with bewildered looks on their faces. But nobody was more bewildered than Pythor.

"Who are you?" Pythor asked sternly.

"You should know, Pythor," Zelda said, pulling the lower half of her mask down.

"Well, it looks like we meet again, Zelda. And might I say I am loving the new outfit you have."

"Save it, Pythor! I'm only going to ask you this once! Free the ninja, or suffer the wrath of the Yellow Ninja!"

The Serpentine could do nothing but laugh their heads off. Zelda knew they had every right to, but that wouldn't put her down from having to stop them.

Pythor just stared at her, giving a goofy look. "Oh, yeah? You and what army?"

"Well, how about this army?" Zelda forms her hand into a fist and punches the tall snake right in the face, knocking out one of his smaller fangs.

Pythor grows angry, but before he can retaliate, he heard the sound of marching atop the interior mountain cliff. Standing before everyone were the Skulkin with none other than Valderra leading them.

"I hope this army will do," Valderra said.

Zelda gasped. "Grandmother!"

Valderra smiled down at her granddaughter. "Zelda, you helped me realize I do have a choice. I may not be able to ever be good no matter how hard I try, but that won't stop me from making the choice to defeat these slither heads. And if there is anyone who is going to threaten Ninjago, it better well be me. And when my reign comes to an end, I'll make sure Marga is prepared for the throne."

"I don't understand," Pythor said, "Why do the Skulkin still fight beside you? You betrayed them and Samukai just to get your way!"

"Because everybody hate snakes!" Kruncha exclaimed.

"And besides, we're loyal to her granddaughter," Nuckal confessed.

Pythor growled. "Oh, forget it! Attack!"

"Attack!" Valderra commanded.

It was a battle between snakes and skeletons. Pythor grabbed Scalina by the wrist to keep her out of harm's way. He pulls on a lever that makes the cage the ninja were in descend into the vat of venom.

Carol gasped. "Oh, no! We're moving the wrong way!"

Zelda looked up and gasped. "Hold on!" She went to pull the lever to stop the cage from going down, but was surprised to see an iron-made boomerang had hit the lever and stopped the chains from moving. She looked up to see a mysterious masked person dressed entirely in black hanging from a rope that was connected to the ceiling. "Oh, my goodness."

The masked person motioned Zelda to free the ninja and grab their weapons. Nodding, Zelda went to do so. She pressed down on a rock connected to a pillar that opened the cage and dropped the weapons. The ninja were finally freed.

"A ninja never leaves another ninja behind," Zelda told them.

"Go, Ninja, Go!" the girls chanted.

The snakes and skeletons were still heated in battle with one another. Even though some were taking it seriously, some decided to be complete goofballs. Nuckal was actually blabbering his head off saying a bunch of "blah blah blah's" to Skales, who literally thought he was just plain crazy.

"Are you serious?" Skales asked him.

But it all turned out to be a trick. With Nuckal's as the distraction, Kruncha came up and punched Skales in the face, knocking him out cold.

Kruncha chuckled. "He never saw that coming."

"Saw what coming?" Nuckal asked.

Kruncha sighs and hits him over the head. "You're such an idiot."

But the battle took a more ferocious approach when Valderra and Pythor began to fight. The two battled with swords until a piece of cloth hit Pythor in the face, blinding him and making him fall to the ground.

Valderra removed the cloth from his face and growled. "Hand over the fang blades and we promise no one will get hurt!"

Pythor hopped up. "This won't be the last time we see one another." Then he turned to face his warriors. "Retreat!" He grabbed the fang blades. "So long, suckers!" But as he slithered off, he didn't get far because the masked hero dressed in black stood in front of him. He gasped. "Oh, dear."

The mysterious figure snatched the fang blades from him. They would've given Pythor his just desserts if he hadn't of disappeared.

Carol gasped. "Oh, my gosh! He just disappeared like magic!"

"Where do you think he went?" Kai asked.

Nya sneezed. "Who cares about him? What's important is that we have the fang blades."

"And it looks like we've got another mysterious hero on our hands," Kitty said, staring at the hero in black, "Who are you and where did you come from? There's no point in keeping a secret."

The mystery hero set the fang blades down in front of the ninja along with a green cloth. They used spinjitzu, which was a black color, to quickly leave.

"Wait!" Zelda yelled out.

Wu walked up to pick up the cloth that sat atop the pile of fang blades. He examines it and shows it to everyone else. "It appears our mystery hero has name themselves Double MW."

"Who do you think they were?" Carol asked.

"Who cares?" Nya said, "We have the fang blades. Let's get out of here before Pythor decides to come back."

"Ninja Go!" the heroes shouted before making their way out of the mountain.

Even though the Skulkin were enemies, it was on that day that they were, in a way, the good guys. Even if it was just for one battle.

"Don't worry about us!" Nuckal shouted out to them, "We'll keep fighting the good fight."

"You know, I never thought I'd be saying this, but Go, Ninja, Go!" Kruncha exclaimed.

Sometimes the bad guys can be the good guys. If they wanted to.

**NEXT SCENE:**

It was a little while later when the ninja returned to the bounty and this time with the fang blades. They decided to celebrate their achievement with a party. Zelda was actually looking for her grandmother to not only invite her to join the party, but to also apologize for everything she said to her earlier.

But before Zelda could do either of those things, she saw Valderra packing up. She knocked on the doorway to get the dark queen's attention. "I apologize for bothering you. I was hoping you could stay and celebrate with us, but it looks as though you are about to leave."

Valderra sighed. "I'm afraid so. But now I can leave knowing you are safe. And because the ninja now have the fang blades in their possession, there is nothing else I am needed for."

"I need you, but I know that you won't be able to lead me into the final battle. You are the one I must stop to ensure light continues to reign in Ninjago." Zelda sighs. "But I know you must return to the Underworld to prepare Marga for the final battle as well. Once I end your days of tyranny, Marga will keep the darkness in balance."

"True, but you cannot expect her to not let darkness reign. Once she becomes queen, she will do whatever it takes to turn Ninjago into her own image. It will be your responsibility to keep the balance in check."

"And I will make sure to do so." Zelda takes her glasses off to wipe away a tear. Once she puts them back on, she looks her grandmother in the eyes. "You know that once you walk out that door, we will now be known as enemies. The next time we meet again, I will do everything in my power to defeat you."

Valderra smiled. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

Zelda walked up and embraced her grandmother, who didn't hesitate to hug her back. "There is one thing I want you to know. No matter how many battles we clash in against one another, I want you to know that deep down, I will love you through it all."

"And I love you as well, Zelda." Valderra picked up her bag and walked up to the door, but before she exited out, she turned to look at Zelda. "Oh, and by the way, I want you to know that you are a sweet young woman, Zelda. Throughout your journey as the Yellow Ninja, you will mature and learn many things. Although we're now on opposite sides, I'm still very proud of you. And I will tell Marga that you said hello."

"Well, before you go, I would be happy if you wanted to borrow one of Wu's swords. He said you were welcomed to one as a parting gift." Zelda goes to get the sword from off the wall. "You probably won't need it, but it might help you in battle." She turns around to see that Valderra has already left. "Oh, you are already... gone." She sighs. "Goodbye, Grandmother. Until we meet again."

Zelda took a few minutes to ask the Great Sensei to watch over her grandmother and to ensure the safety of everyone in Ninjago through difficult times. Then she left out of Wu's bedroom and made her way to the bridge, where everyone was already celebrating their biggest achievement.

Everyone except Monica, of course.

She was pretty much holed up in her own little corner. She and her father had already had the same talk they've had over and over again. Basically all Wu says is he has many reasons why he won't let her fight and she already knows one of them. And that reason was to keep her safe. But no matter what she tries to say to convince him to change his mind, he doesn't listen. She just had no choice but to mind him and let things be the way they are.

But Misako has other plans. She doesn't want her niece to miss out on the fun and decides to admit that she knows.

"Monica," Misako said, walking over to her niece.

Monica crossed her arms. "Leave me be. I'm not in the party mood."

"I only thought you wanted this back." Misako handed Monica the cloth that said Double MW. Then she placed a finger over her lips. "I promise not to tell."

Monica gasped. "You know?"

"Who else would've known where we were besides Zelda and Valderra? I know you are a talented fighter and will do anything to help us keep Ninjago safe. Just be careful out there and try not to get hurt."

Monica grinned. "I will. Just promise that you won't tell Daddy."

"Your secret's safe with me."

As the two of them joined in on the celebration, Zelda tried her best to look happy, but her true expression couldn't fool anyone. Not even Lloyd.

"Let me guess," Lloyd said, "Your grandmother left to return home."

Zelda sighed, nodding her head. "I'm afraid so. It's probably for the best."

"Well, maybe so. Here." Lloyd handed her a cup filled with green colored punch. "Have some green apple punch. A recipe Carol made up when she was a kid. It's actually pretty good."

"And I think we should all make a toast," Kitty said, raising her cup, "To Zelda's grandmother, Queen Valderra!"

"To Queen Valderra!" everyone cheered, raising their cups as well.

Zelda smiled. "To Grandmother!"

"We will go to Torchfire Mountain tomorrow to destroy these Fang blades once and for all," Wu announced, "And it couldn't have been done without your grandmother, Zelda. I'm going to miss her."

"I will, too," Zelda said.

_But I promise we will get her back,_ Zelda thought, _No matter what it takes._

As the ninja continued to celebrate, they were unaware that a mysterious unwelcome guest was hiding on the bounty. Reappearing from his invisibility state was Pythor, who watches them outside through the small window on the door.

Pythor laughs softly. "You're going to miss more than her when I get through with you, ninja."

And just when things were starting to get better...

* * *

**OMG! ANOTHER AMAZING CHAPTER HAS BEEN READ. **

**OKAY, SO I'M PRETTY SURE YOU WERE ALL GONNA FIGURE IT OUT SOONER OR LATER. YOU KNOW, ABOUT DOUBLE MW. YOU GUYS ARE WELCOMED TO SAY IT IN THE REVIEWS SINCE I'VE ALREADY REVEALED IT. AND YOUR WELCOME FOR A LITTLE FAMILY FLUFF. **

**SO GUYS, JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW THAT THERE ARE ONLY TWO CHAPTERS LEFT. THEY WILL BE A PART 1 & 2. AND BOTH OF THEM WILL BE PRETTY LONG SO IT MAY BE THREE WEEKS BEFORE PART 1 WILL BE POSTED. **

**OKAY, GUYS, DON'T FORGET TO SPOT THE DIFFERENCE OR LET ME KNOW WHAT YOUR FAVORITE PART IS IN THE REVIEWS.**

**HOPE EVERYONE IS STAYING SAFE AND HEALTHY. I'M DOING THE SAME. AND I HOPE THIS CHAPTER WILL CURE A LITTLE BIT OF YOUR BOREDOM. **

**WELL, I BETTER GET GOING. **

**HOPE THIS CHAPTER WAS GOOD.**

**PLEASE REVIEW.**


	23. S1 E23: Part 1: The Great Devourer

S1 E23

PART 1: THE GREAT DEVOURER

_Four ninja go up against the Serpentine. All four tribes unite and there are too many to try and handle. But the ninja have been through a tougher crowd than that. It wasn't that big of a deal._

_But there are bigger problems._

_Sensei Wu stands up against Pythor, but the two of them look up and see what looks to be a great beast that has risen from a long, long nap. _

_And lunges straight for the Serpentine leader and Wu._

* * *

A clap of thunder booms through the sky as Wu opens his eyes, gasping in fright. Then he realizes that he had been looking through the spirit smoke.

But there was one thing he knew would happen.

He may not have much time left.

More thunder rumbles the skies as the bounty is flying through a storm to make it to Torchfire Mountain to destroy the fang blades. Inside the dining room, Kai and Nya were in charge of watching over the blades. Kitty is sitting with them at the table fixing up a sandwich.

"You know, I've been meaning to ask," Nya said, "Why is it that Torchfire Mountain is the only place we can destroy the fang blades at?"

"Because the fang blades are made from the original teeth of the Devourer," Kai said, "They're so strong they can only break down in extraordinary heat."

"With how big those teeth are, I can just about imagine how gigantic the Great Devourer is. But there's one other thing I wanna know. If someone were to be pricked by one of the fang blades, would the venom seep through you? Or does it still have venom?"

"Let those worries disappear forever," Lloyd said while walking inside, "I've actually been studying these blades and it says here that once the Devourer lost its fang, the venom no longer seeps through it. Sure the Fangpyre's venom and Venomari spray remains within them even when they've been fossilized, but the Devourer is different since this thing is the only one of its species of serpents. Which is the main reason why the Serpentine worship it."

"Excellent history lesson," Kitty said, "Could someone pass the salt?" The bounty tilts from the strong winds, making the salt shaker slide towards her. She gives a smile. "I thank the storm for giving me this."

Carol opens up the door, one hand clutching her stomach and her other hand holding onto the door.

The poor girl was a mess.

Half of her hair was hanging out of her ponytail and her forehead and cheeks were covered in red spots after vomiting so much the day before. She had received a bad case of the stomach flu after going near a flying squirrel who had been carrying it from some other person. Wu had given her some herbal tea yesterday to help her stomach, but he told her that it would still be at least three or four days before the vomiting could stop. Besides that and running a fever, Carol just felt plain awful and miserable. And the storm rocking the ship around wasn't helping matters.

And she clearly wasn't in the mood to even hear anything relating about food.

"Can we please not talk about food?" Carol asked, "It's bad enough I can't keep anything down. How much longer until we get there?"

"It shouldn't be too long now," Kitty said, "You're looking pretty green there, Carol. How about I interest you in a mucus salt sandwich?"

Carol can feel a terrible churning sensation in her stomach and rushes off to vomit over the side of the ship.

"Let's just hope that doesn't land on someone," Lloyd said.

Kitty laughed. "Ha! It's just nice not to have to worry so much. I best go and get some yellow mustard." She walks out of the dining room.

"Speaking of yellow, I never thought that Zelda would be the one chosen to become the Yellow Ninja," Kai said.

"Well, she's perfect for it," Lloyd said, "She has a pure heart and the goodness of light within her. She may only know the basics, but she's lucky to have friends who will be there to teach her what she needs to know. So it's not hard to believe that she's going to be the greatest ninja that ever lived."

"Well, just to be clear, you were the one that saw she was the perfect girl to be the Yellow Ninja," Nya said, "You can't forget that you play a big part in destiny's call, too."

Lloyd chuckles nervously. "I forget about that easily. And it's kind of strange hearing that from someone who acted like a big baby about wanting to be the greatest."

Nya sighed. "I got over my jealousy when I finally opened my eyes to see that nobody's the greatest. Everyone is special in their own way. That's why Zelda was chosen."

"Speaking of Zelda, where is she?" Kai asked.

"She's practicing her skills on the bounty's new training course," Lloyd said.

Let's see how that's turning out.

**NEXT SCENE:**

The training course in the bounty is running smooth and efficiently. Zelda stands in front of it, ready to take the first step into learning the way of the ninja. And a ninja must learn the art of spinjitzu.

She took a deep breath. "Alright, Zelda. You can do this. Just pretend the training course is the Serpentine. They want to take back the fang blades, but you won't let them. They will stop at nothing to get their way, but you are determined to send them back into the filthy holes they came from. Ninja Go!"

She attempts the first mode on the training course, which is the moving poles. She had gotten in some good practice with it. The same went with the balance beam with punching bags swinging back and forth. She used her fist and feet to get through. But when it came to the carousel of weapons, she still needed some practice on learning to duck. She had gotten the breath knocked out of her by a bo staff and was knocked down to the floor.

She was lucky nobody saw that.

Or so she thought.

Laughter could be heard as she saw Pythor's form turn visible. "What a joke. You were always a girl who chased stupid dreams."

Zelda gasped. "Pythor! How did you get aboard?"

The Anacondrai picked Zelda up, tying her to a punching bag connected to the training course. "I have a knack for disappearing before your very eyes. And there is no way I would allow the ninja to steal the fang blades from me."

"Untie me at once!" Zelda shouted, "You'll never get away with this! You will never-" But before she could continue, Pythor places duct tape over her mouth to keep her quiet.

Pythor chuckles. "Oh, I wouldn't worry about that. As they say, out of sight, out of mind." He vanishes without another word.

Zelda struggles through her bonds, worried for the others and what Pythor is planning in order to get his hands on the fang blades again.

Oh, why can't anything go right for the ninja?

**NEXT SCENE:**

The bounty was finally making its way over to Torchfire Mountain. But the heroes of Ninjago aren't the only one's visiting.

Driving up on the sandy concrete roads was a tour bus filled with people either visiting from faraway countries or the fair citizens who dwell in the land of Ninjago who wanted to get out for the day to see some beautiful sceneries.

The bus driver pulled out the microphone to speak with the passengers. "Thanks, folks, for choosing the Ninjago Tour Company to see our land's most scenic destinations. And if you look to your left, you'll find Ninjago's very own Torchfire Mountain, where the core of the natural volcano can reach up to a bajillion degrees. Please take this moment to snap some pictures to remember the world's hottest volcano."

As there were many various families in the bus, the Walkers sat by the window as they enjoyed looking at the many places they've seen dozens of times before. Jay was actually in the middle of sketching out a new invention he planned to create when he took a moment to look outside the window and saw the bounty passing by.

"Mom, Dad, look," Jay said, pointing at the window, "It's the Destiny's Bounty."

Ed and Edna Walker didn't hesitate to look out and see the flying ship for themselves. Ed had seen it plenty of times when he and Jay went out to fix up the monastery, but this was actually Edna's first time seeing it and she was a happy camper when she did.

"Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle," Edna said, "That sure is a flying ship. For a while there I thought you boys were pulling my chains."

"You seriously didn't believe us at first?" Jay asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I've got a saying, sweetie. I don't believe it until I've seen it. I suppose you were telling the truth about getting to ride around Ninjago in it. How does it work?"

"Well, I guess you deserve to know."

That's gonna be a long explanation. Cue to the next scene.

**NEXT SCENE:**

The bounty makes its way towards Torchfire Mountain, where Kai is trying to get the ship into position so that the ninja will be able to throw in the fang blades, but they don't want to get too close.

Lloyd held the microphone to announce that they have arrived. "Will everyone please place their seat back and tray table in the full upright and locked position? We have reached our destination: Torchfire Mountain. Please give it a minute while we settle into position."

The ninja were already prepared. Each one had a fang blade to drop inside the volcano. The first step they took outside felt like they were roasting inside an oven.

"Oh, me goodness," Kitty groaned, fanning herself, "It's roasting out here. I feel like we're in a sauna."

"There's a saying that my dad has," Nya said, "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen."

"I actually don't mind," Carol said, "This stomach flu is giving me the chills. Can we just get this over with so I can go to bed?"

Kitty looked over at Monica, who was giving a worried look towards her father, but Wu was pretending not to realize it. She walked over to the pre-teen. "Hey, what's up?"

Monica sighed. "I'm worried about my dad. He's been pretty distant lately. I'm worried he's seen something and not telling us about it."

"He may have his reasons."

Wu gazed upon their surroundings below, sighing peacefully. "It is beautiful, is it not?"

"My teacher, we are ready for the destruction of the fang blades, yet you seem disinterested," Pixal said, "Is there a reason?"

"You do not need my approval to finish the task," Wu said, "You may do it now or wait. It is up to you."

"But Dad, you always give out instructions before we do anything," Monica said.

Wu turned to face his daughter. "Monica, you should know that butts are for sitting. And besides, there will come a time when you will have to go on without me. And that goes for the rest of you."

"My teacher, you're talking crazy," Nya told him, "You still have so many years left in you. You've been alive for, like, forever." She received an elbow in the side from Kitty. "Ow!"

"Why would you go off and say something like that for?" Kitty asked, "Don't give a man nearing age grim thoughts."

"I believe what they are trying to say is you are like the sunrise," Pixal said, "We cannot begin a day without you. None of us can."

Wu sighed. "I'm afraid that even the sun must go down so a new day begins."

"Brother, stop using metaphors to explain what you have foreseen," Garmadon said, "If you plan to leave us, just say so."

"Dad, do you need to go somewhere again?" Monica asked.

"Wu, don't hide anything from us," Misako said, "It's better to say it now than to leave us in the dust and save it for later. It's never worked before and it doesn't work now."

"I am not hiding anything," Wu said, "It was during my meditation that my smoke visions have come to an end, and tomorrow, I cannot see. This worries me to know that my future may be bleak."

"We ain't gonna let that happen," Kitty said.

"And who knows?" Nya said, "This could be a good thing. We destroy the fang blades, then everything's back to the way it should be. Of course, we still have to take care of the Serpentine."

"I think it's time we got rid of the fang blades for good," Misako said.

While the ninja set up the wooden plank, Pythor, in his invisible form, sneaks inside the generator room where Kai and Lloyd are going through the map at the work table. He opens a panel that houses all the wires going through the main computer system that controls everything working upon the bounty. He takes a dagger and cuts through them, causing the main computer to go haywire and making the Bounty unstable.

The ninja hold on to something to keep from falling into the volcano. Wu wasn't so lucky and ended up sliding down. He grabbed onto the wooden plank.

"Brother!" Garmadon shouted, "Hold on! We're coming!"

Wu tried to keep a tight grip, but steam from the lava caused the plank to become slippery, making Wu lose his grasp and fall.

But Garmadon catches him just in time, pulling him back up onto the bounty. "Don't worry, Wu. I won't let you go anywhere."

"Thank you, brother," Wu said, grateful to have Garmadon as both his brother and best friend.

But the bounty was still trying to tilt over.

"Kai, what is going on?" Nya shouted.

Kai and Lloyd were trying to fix the main controls, but it just showed up as nothing but a bunch of codes.

"I don't know," Kai said, "It looks like someone or something has overridden the system."

"I've found the problem," Lloyd said, showing Kai all the wires that had been cut.

"Who did this?"

Inside the training room, Zelda managed to wiggle out her arms to untie the bounds that kept her restrained. She pulled the duct tape off her mouth and presses the button to speak through the intercom.

"Pythor's on board!"

Zelda's voice echoed across the bounty. The ninja looked around and saw Pythor come out of his invisibility state with the fang blades in his hands.

Pythor chuckled. "Oh, I apologize if I've caused so many problems, but I can't let you spoil my plans. You should know I have this whole Devourer thing going on. I'll just be on my way." But when he turned around, Zelda was standing in front of him with a sword clutched in her grip. He rolled his eyes. "I suppose no matter what I do you never seem to stay out of my way."

"You're not going anywhere, Pythor," Zelda said, "You don't know what you're doing."

"Oh, but I do. I plan to unleash the Great Devourer no matter what you say or do. You wouldn't understand considering you are nothing but a child."

"I'm not a child! I'm a teenager! There's a difference!" Zelda runs up to try and attack Pythor, but throughout every blow she tried, the Anacondrai dodged.

"You may be good with a sword, but I am much faster than you. Do you really think you can defeat me?"

"Oh, I'm not trying to defeat you. I'm just trying to keep you busy until the main event arrives."

Coming up from behind Pythor were Kai and Lloyd, who were in their samurai and green ninja attire. As they walk up to him, Zelda took the opportunity to kick him in the face. He fell to the ground along with the fang blades scattering every which way.

"Oh, that's gotta hurt!" Lloyd cheered.

Zelda giggled. "Well, I'll admit that this isn't my first rodeo."

"I'll get the fang blades," Kai said, using his magnetic force to have the blades come to him.

But Pythor wasn't giving up. He went back into his invisibility form and sneaked up on Kai, snatching the fang blades from right under his nose.

"Thank you!" Pythor said.

"Hey!" Kai shouted.

"Give those back!" Zelda shouted out, running over towards Pythor.

But Pythor finally had enough of the Yellow Ninja. He straighten out his tail and used it as a whip to smack Zelda away from him. Not only did it cause her to receive a whip lash on her right cheek, but it also knocked her glasses off her face.

Pythor actually had the nerve to slither over and pick the glasses up. "Oh, what do we have here? Do these belong to you?"

Zelda gasped. "My glasses! I can't see without them!"

"Then it must be one of your greatest weaknesses." The Anacondrai snapped the glasses in half, throwing them at Zelda while laughing. "As much as I would like to continue this battle, I have a ride to catch." With the fang blades clutched in his arms, he slithers over to the edge of the bounty and hops over the railing, standing on top of the Rattlercopter. "So long, suckers!"

"No!" Zelda shouts, but it was too late. Pythor was gone in a flash.

Meanwhile, the bounty was starting to lean sideways. Kai and Lloyd rushed back inside the control room to start up the bounty.

"Without electricity, this thing is nothing but a gas guzzler," Lloyd said.

"We'll be fine," Kai told him, "We still have reserved fuel. But we need to get out of here. Tell everyone to hang on tight."

Lloyd pulled out the microphone. "Listen up, everyone! We're getting out of here! Hold on tight!"

Everyone obeyed, holding on to the railing and linking arms with one another. Kai turned on the fuel settings and was able to steer the bounty in the right position before flying away from Torchfire Mountain.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Kitty said.

"We better hurry," Nya said, "We can't let Pythor make it to Ouroboros."

No way is Pythor gonna get away with this. It's time for some action.

**NEXT SCENE:**

The Rattlercopter was flying in the direction of Ouroboros, but it wasn't flying fast enough. Pythor feared that they won't make it in time before the ninja finally catch up to them.

"The City of Ouroboros is miles away," Pythor said, "This Rattlercopter will never get us there in time. They'll catch up to us. I don't want them getting in my way anymore."

"Don't worry, sir," Skales said, "We've already made preparations."

"What preparations?"

Scalina pointed out the window. "The other warriors have raided a tour bus, my love. It will get you there faster. I can go ahead and say that you are pleased with this arrangement."

"Oh, I certainly am," Pythor said, "I am very, very pleased." He and Skales climb out of the Rattlercopter, but the Anacondrai notices that Scalina remains rooted to her seat. "Are you not coming, my love?"

"I must prepare the women and children for the Devourer, but I promise we will see each other again. I love you, Pythor."

Pythor smiles. "I love you, too, my dear." He departs for the bus.

And he was unaware of the little evil smile that spread across Scalina's face.

Jay was actually coming out of the restroom when he saw people exiting off the first part of the bus through the window. He was wondering if something was wrong with the bus, but then he discovered the Serpentine were throwing all the tourist out. He quickly rushed back to warn his parents.

"Mom, Dad, I don't want you guys to panic or anything, but the Serpentine are kicking people off the bus," Jay quickly told them.

Oh, sweetie, I'm sure there's a logical reason for-" But Edna didn't finish her sentence because the Serpentine were already starting to evacuate everyone off the bus.

"By order of the Serpentine, we order you off this bus immediately!" one of the snake warriors commanded, "Everyone out!"

"Oh, dear!" Edna cried.

They were all thrown out of the bus, all except for the bus driver. Pythor and Skales made their way up front, giving the driver directions.

"Take us to Ouroboros at once!" Pythor yelled.

The driver nodded fearfully and started up the bus. It drove off down the road, leaving the tourist passengers stranded in the desert.

"This is just awful," Edna said.

"How are we supposed to get back to the city?" Ed asked, "There's not a cell phone tower for miles around here to get a signal to call for help."

Jay took a moment to think before remembering something. He looked through his backpack and found the communication device that Nya gave him in case he needed help. Now was the perfect time to call out for them.

"Don't worry, everyone," Jay said, "I know who can help us."

It's always great to have somebody around that are close friends with heroes.

**NEXT SCENE:**

Back on the bounty, the ninja are preparing to go after the Serpentine. They've decided to use the silver weapons to create the Silver Jet since the dragons needed to help keep the bounty in the skies until they could get the wiring fixed.

The girls were getting prepared to head out. Kai and Lloyd were also getting themselves ready. Zelda was busy fixing her glasses by taping the middle up so she could wear them. It probably won't be too long before she needs a new pair.

Wu was beginning to grow worried. The moment they were finally going to get rid of the fang blades, they end up losing their focus and now the Devourer may actually be freed from its prison.

"This is not good," Wu said, "If Pythor returns the fang blades to the City of Ouroboros, he'll awaken the Great Devourer."

"Calm yourself, brother," Garmadon said, "It's not going to happen. We will stop Pythor at all cost."

"So what is the plan?" Zelda asked, placing her glasses back on her face, "Ah, much better."

"Misako, Garmadon, I need you two to stay here on the bounty with Zelda and Monica," Wu said, "I will go with the ninja. Kai and Lloyd, we will need you to come along as well. We won't be able to do it alone."

"Dad, please," Monica said, "Let me help. I can fight just as great as everyone here."

"I'm sorry, Monica. I cannot allow you to come with us. I am not even allowing Zelda to come with us."

"But I can help you," Zelda said, "I may not have powers yet, but I am trained in the martial arts. And that's literally the second time I've been face to face with Pythor. I can do this."

"Patience, Zel," Nya said, "We can't let anything else happen to you. You're too important now that you're the chosen one."

"Did I hear you say patience?" Wu said, stroking his beard, "It seems the student has become the teacher."

"Well, I don't wanna keep standing around here," Kitty said, "We best get going before Pythor sends doom upon Ninjago." She looks over at Carol. "You think you can handle this?"

"I'll be fine," Carol said, shivering a bit, "As long as I have a bucket and ginger ale, nothing can go wrong."

"I don't think it would be wise for you to ride in the Silver Jet with us," Pixal said, "Perhaps there is another way of transportation for you."

"Carol will ride with me," Wu said while hopping in the Triple-S3 Mech, which is the name they've decided for the three seated contraption, "I will keep an eye on her."

"But we need her to conjure up the Silver Jet," Nya reminded everyone.

"I'll take care of that," Lloyd said, turning to Carol, "Mind if I borrow your bo staff?"

"Not at all." Carol handed Lloyd the staff. "Just be careful with it."

"I will."

Before they could transform the weapons into the Silver Jet, Nya got a call coming in from her wrist communicator. She turned it on and was surprised to hear Jay's voice.

"Nya, are you there?" Jay asked through the communicator, "It's Jay Walker."

"Jay, is everything alright?" Nya asked. She knew Jay wouldn't have called through the device unless there was an emergency. Most of the time they would just text one another if they ever wanted to talk.

"Sorry to say that a whole bunch of us were just thrown off our tour bus by the Serpentine. Luckily, everyone's here and accounted for, but I figured you wanted to know so you could stop them."

"We're actually going after them. We'll have someone come to rescue you all. Where's your location?"

"We're in the Sea of Sands. All I can say is we're at a sign that points the way to Jamanakai Village."

"We'll send someone out there. Just stay put and be careful."

"We will. Thanks, Nya."

Once Nya turned off the communicator, she turned to Misako. "Misako?"

"I'll get right to it," Misako said, walking up to the bridge.

"Okay, we're wasting time," Kitty said, "Let's go."

"Ninja Go!" everyone shouted.

The girls, with the exception of Lloyd subbing for Carol, used their weapons to summon the Silver Jet. They flew out of sights faster than the speed of light, with Wu and Carol following behind as well as Kai using his jet pack.

They were able to make it up to the stolen tour bus, which was still heading in the direction of Ouroboros. The driver was still confused about what exactly was going on, but Pythor`s only command every single time was to keep driving forward.

The ride there continued to be peaceful so far until Skales recognized the ninja following behind them. He gasped. "Sir, the Ninja are on our tail. If we don't move faster they'll catch up with us in no time."

"Not to worry, Skales, I'll take care of this." Pythor reaches out to grab the microphone and begins speaking through the speakers. "Good afternoon, my cold-blooded warriors. If you look off to your left and behind you, you'll find the ninja. So annoying, if I do say so myself. So man your stations, everyone! We've got guests. Let's make sure we give them the ride of a lifetime."

The Fangpyre took this as their cue to climb up on the roof of the tour bus. They began biting it, letting the venom seep through to change it from red to green and transform the bus into the Serpentine Train.

Nya gasped. "What are they doing to the bus?"

"That is no longer a bus," Wu said, "It is a moving fortress."

"Well, let's see if we can't get on that thing and stop it," Kitty said.

They tried closing the Silver Jet in, but the tail kept whipping out, causing them to slowly back away, but still doing their best to keep up with the vehicle.

"This is hopeless," Nya groaned, "How are we supposed to get close to that thing?"

"I don't know, but one way or another, we will," Lloyd said.

Carol looked around on both sides of her to see a couple of Serpentine riding up to them on motorcycles. "Uh, my teacher, we have company."

Wu looked beside him, seeing one snake warrior driving up on his side. "I see. Allow me to take care of this." He presses a button, which activates and opens up a missile launcher on each side of the mech. He pressed another button to shoot out a missile each on both serpents vehicles. "Oh, this is fun."

The ninja continued trying to get inside the bus, but that tail would not give them the satisfaction.

"This is getting us nowhere," Kitty said, "If we have any chance at getting on that bus, we need to work together."

"Good thinking," Kai said, "I've got an idea. Try to get up there as close as you can and open the window. Nya, I need you to splash him with water while I go in and detach his tail."

"I hope this works," Nya said, "Let's get closer."

The ninja flew the Silver Jet closer to the giant snake bus. After opening one of the windows, Nya shot out water from her hands and sprayed him directly in the face, blinding him from seeing anything. Kai took the opportunity to go in and detach his tail from the rest of the train.

"Got it!" Kai cheered.

"Awesome job, Kai," Kitty said, "Come on, everyone. Let's board that train."

Back up in the driver's seat of the bus, Pythor was beginning to grow irritated of the ninja's persistent antics to stop him from doing what he's been waiting for years to do. Skales was beginning to worry.

"We're running out of time, sir," Skales said, "If the ninja stop us from getting to the City of Ouroboros, we may never awaken the Great Devourer."

"Don't lecture me on something I already know," Pythor said sternly. Then his angry eyes pointed towards the driver, "Can't you speed this thing up? Go faster!"

"I can't," the bus driver said, "If we drive any faster, the engine could explode."

"Fine, then I'll do it. Get out."

"But I can't just jump out of a moving vehicle!"

"Then I'll do it for you," Skales said. He opened the door, grabbed the driver by the wrist and threw him out of the bus. "So long, sucker!" He closed the door.

Pythor had already placed himself in the driver's seat, speeding the bus up faster than it should go. He continued to give Skales orders. "Don't let them reach the front or you will no longer be my second in command."

"I'll personally see to it myself," Skales said, making his way to the next car. He had no plans to lose his spot as Pythor's right hand man.

The ninja, sans Carol, had made their way inside the train. Lloyd had hitched a ride on Kai's shoulders to continue fighting through the skies if need be.

This was it. It's now or never.

"Okay, girls," Nya said, "Let's split up. Last one to the front is a sparkly ninja."

"You know how much I hate things sparkly," Kitty said.

Serpentine started coming up left and right. The first move the girls made was spinjitzu, getting rid of the snakes faster since pretty much all the windows were opened.

But more snakes just kept coming in from the first car so the ninja had to take drastic measures. Nya used her water powers to make the floors slippery, Kitty yelled out a wild call to club some snakes in the head and Pixal used her sais to create rose bushes with thorny branches. Their powers have grown stronger since they unlocked their true potentials, but they would be even stronger if Carol was fighting inside with them.

"Wish Carol was fighting with us," Kitty said.

"Perhaps she will arrive soon," Pixal said, "We must give her another moment."

Just at that moment, Carol was hanging upside down from the roof of the train, her face showing from outside the window.

"Hey, girls," Carol said, "Don't mind me. Just fighting from the roof. Not an easy thing to do. Plus I'm starting to feel nauseous in this position."

"You're a ninja," Kitty told her, "You can handle it."

Rolling her eyes, Carol pulled herself back on her feet, facing a couple of Serpentine who had climbed up on the roof. Kai and Lloyd landed to help out, with the samurai fighting with his sword and the green ninja battling with his golden powers. Even Wu joined in since he hated missing out on the fun.

A snake jumped in the seat mech with Wu, to which the old teacher was about to have some tea. He handed the cup to the serpent. "Hold this, please."

"Sure," the snake said, accepting the cup, "Thanks."

The snake thought the cup of tea was for him, but once Wu finished pouring the tea, he punched the snake out of the mech and caught the cup without spilling a drop. "Thank you." He took a sip.

Carol gasped, pointing up ahead. "Watch out! Billboard coming right at us!"

"Jump in!" Wu shouted. Carol didn't hesitate and jumped inside the mech. The two went up above the billboard sign to avoid colliding with it.

Lloyd hopped on Kai's shoulders. "Let's go!"

Kai was trying to start up his jet pack, but it wouldn't go fast enough. "Ugh! This thing never starts fast enough!"

"Then duck!"

"I can't when you're on top of me!"

It was too late. They ended up hitting the billboard and getting knocked off the train.

"Oh, that's gotta hurt," Wu said from in the sky.

"We need to catch up," Carol said as they moved the mech forward.

Kai and Lloyd took a moment to recover before moving forward to catch the snake bus.

"I told you to duck," Lloyd said, "You don't hesitate and make up excuses."

"I don't wanna hear it right now," Kai grumbled, starting up his jet pack again for him and Lloyd to return to the skies.

Back on the train, the three remaining ninja finally made it on the roof of the car that Skales was atop of. And he had no plans on letting them pass.

"Looks like this is the end of the line, losers," Skales said, laughing maniacally.

"What did you just call us?" Nya asked rhetorically, the fire of anger burning in her eyes.

"Oh, he's gonna get it now," Kitty said, "Nya won't take name calling like that from nobody."

Nya took out her fans. "Stand behind me, girls." She then began to concentrate hard and used her true potential to summon a tsunami of water. "Water!"

Skales gulped. "Oh, no."

Needless to say, Skales was wiped out by a wave, washing him off the train and landing on the side of the road. He knew by then that his chances of being second in command were over.

The few remaining warriors had been knocked down by the wave. They were too afraid to go against the ninja after what happened to Skales. They ended up running away like the cowards they are.

"I love my water powers!" Nya exclaimed.

Kai and Lloyd flew in just a moment later. The samurai used his laser cutter to cut open a hole in the roof so everyone could get inside and meet up with Wu.

"Hop in, everyone," Lloyd said.

"Lady's first," Kai said.

The ninja hopped inside, Kai and Lloyd following behind them. They spotted Wu sitting in the floor drinking tea, nodding a hello when he saw them.

"It is good to see you," Wu said.

"Good seeing you, too, me teacher," Kitty said.

"It looks like we have made it to the end," Pixal said.

"Right you are," Nya said, "We got one more car to go. Pythor's in there with the four fang blades. Who's first?"

But before any of them could even make that decision, Wu hops over and opens up the car door. He leaps over to the door that leads inside the car Pythor's in. Turning around, he gave the ninja one more look of sadness before unhooking the driver's car from the passengers, receiving gasps from his students.

"Uncle!" Lloyd shouted.

"Wu, what are you doing?" Kitty yelled.

"My destiny is to face Pythor alone," Wu said, "Your destiny is to train and look after Zelda." He disappeared inside as the remaining section of the Serpentine train drove away.

"I'm starting to get fed up with this!" Nya shouted, "How do we get off this thing?

Carol groans. "Guess we're just gonna have to wait it out, I suppose."

"No, you won't!" A voice called out to them from above. They looked up to see the Destiny's Bounty no longer being supported by the dragons. And standing on the bow was Zelda.

"Zelda!" everyone in the car cheered.

"How did you get the bounty fixed up so fast?" Lloyd asked.

"Well, when you have a lot of spare time on your hands, you tend to learn a thing or two about wiring," Monica said through the loudspeakers, "Hold on tight! It's time to hook, line, and sinker." She uses the anchor as a magnet to hold the train car.

"Get to Ouroboros as fast as you can," Kitty said.

"Aye, aye, Captain! Destination: City of Ouroboros!"

They're finally making it there. But will they make it in time?

**NEXT SCENE:**

Wu opened the door to the driver's car, finally coming face to face with Pythor. The Anacondrai wasn't too thrilled to see one of the ninja's teachers, but he wasn't scared of an old man.

But Wu was finally done playing games.

"It's over, Pythor," Wu said, "This ends now!"

Pythor growled, but decided to take the chance. "So be it."

"Ninja Go!" Wu used spinjitzu to try and knocked Pythor away from the steering wheel, but the giant snake used his long tail to knock him out of the way. But nothing can take down an old master of spinjitzu. "Give this up and we might spare your life from jail."

Pythor laughed. "You speak more than you fight."

Wu then tried to kick the Anacondrai in the face, but Pythor was quick and ducked his head. Wu landed on his feet, panting since there were times when age has slowed him down just a bit.

"You're getting slow, old man," Pythor said.

"I may be old, but not slow," Wu said.

Pythor sees how close he is to Ouroboros. He decided that the only way to get the fang blades to the statue was to figure out how to get Wu out of the way.

The answer was plain and simple. Crash the bus.

Which is exactly what he did. He crashed it against a wall, causing Wu to hit his head on the side of the bus, getting dizzy in the process.

Pythor escaped the bus with the fang blades in tow and heads for the statue.

"Finally, the Great Devourer will be awakened," Pythor said to himself while inserting the fang blades in the statue where the Devourer's teeth would be. A rumbling sensation was felt as all of Ouroboros began shaking as if an earthquake had arrived. He laughs. "Yes, it's working! Awaken, great one! Awaken the insatiable appetite of the beast that will consume all of Ninjago! Rise from your slumber!"

Wu had finally made it inside the city's slither pit, but saw that he was too late.

And he was furious about what doom Pythor has brought upon the land.

"Pythor," Wu growled, "What have you done!?"

Pythor turned around and gave Wu an insane smile. "Don't you see? Releasing the Great Devourer is the only way to get back at the people of Ninjago for locking my kind underground for all those years. You starved my tribe and made me the only full-blooded Anacondrai left. We should have been the ones ruling the surface, not you!"

"You have no idea what you are doing. You are playing with a power that cannot be controlled. No matter who or what you are, the Great Devourer will consume everything, even the Serpentine."

Pythor scoffed. "I'm smart enough to not believe you." He turned back to face the statue. "Unleash, Great Devourer, and be free to do my bidding, for I have awakened you!"

Meanwhile, outside the City of Ouroboros, the heroes of Ninjago finally made it, even though they were too late to stop Pythor from unleashing the Devourer, but they still have yet to figure it out.

"Okay, Monica," Nya said, "Set us down right behind the driver's car."

Once Monica gently lowered down the ninja's car, they didn't hesitate to run right into the snake city. Zelda jumped right out with Monica following behind. Garmadon and Misako remained inside the bounty.

"Let's go!" Kitty shouted.

"Hey, wait for me!" Monica called out.

Things weren't faring so well in the slither pit. Pythor had expected that the Devourer would be lodged inside the statue, but when it started crumbling, all that was left behind was rock.

"I don't understand," Pythor said, "It's not inside the statue? Then where is it?" The ground begins to rumble even more, telling Pythor that the snake was not as big as the statue. "Oh, dear! It's humongous!" He tried running away, but Wu stopped him. "What do you think you're doing?"

"You shall stay to see what you have done," Wu told him.

"No, I will not! Get out of the way and let me go, you fool! Don't you see? It's underneath us!"

Wu had no plans on Pythor leaving. It is what was foretold. He and the Anacondrai were standing right in that very spot when the Devourer shot out from underground. Wu knew this would happen.

The old man threw his arm over Pythor's neck, keeping him from running off.

"You cannot run from this," Wu told him, "This is our destiny."

The ninja finally made it to the scene, but could tell that they were too late by all the mess and rumblings coming from underground.

"What's going on?" Nya asked, "Who's that creature underground?"

"I think we know the answer to that," Kitty said.

"Uncle, don't do this!" Lloyd shouted out to Wu.

Wu took a moment to look over at his students for what he feels may be his final time. "I'm sorry, but it must be done. This is what has been foretold. You all will always be in my hearts. Protect the people. Protect Monica."

"Daddy, stop this!" Monica cried, tears welling up in her eyes, "I'm not ready to lose you!"

Wu sighed. "I know. But never forget how much I love you, Mon Mon. I say the same for all of you. Even a master's students are his children. And you must do everything in your power to stop the Great Devourer. Go, Ninja! Go!"

"No," Nya said, "Sensei Wu."

It was at that moment, a creature so tall broke through from the ground. It had only rose up from its slumber for a second before lunging for its first meal.

The consuming creature known as the Great Devourer has returned...

**TO BE CONTINUED**

* * *

**OKAY, I WILL ADMIT. THIS IS LITERALLY THE LONGEST CHAPTER EVER WRITTEN. AND I'VE WRITTEN PLENTY OF THEM.**

**THE ONLY REASON I KEPT WU'S PART IN WAS BECAUSE HE'S GOT SOME BEEF WITH SNAKES. YOU'LL LEARN MORE ABOUT WHY LATER ON. PROBABLY IN SEASON TWO.**

**I'M TERRIBLY SORRY TO SAY THAT THE NEXT UPDATE WILL BE THE LAST FOR SEASON ONE. I WILL LET YOU GUYS KNOW IN THE ENDING AUTHOR NOTES FOR THE LAST UPDATE OF THIS STORY WHICH NEW UPCOMING STORY I PLAN TO GIVE YOU GUYS NEXT.**

**OKAY, GUYS, DON'T FORGET TO SPOT THE DIFFERENCE OR TELL ME WHAT YOUR FAVORITE PART WAS.**

**AND A SPECIAL THANKS TO ALL YOU READERS AND REVIEWERS. YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST.**

**HOPE THINGS ARE GOING WELL FOR YOU GUYS OUT THERE. I KNOW THINGS ARE STILL CRAZY, BUT WE'LL PULL THROUGH IT TOGETHER. I JUST HOPE THAT MY STORIES ARE GIVING YOU GUYS SOMETHING TO READ ON THESE BORING DAYS. I'M SURE DOING THE SAME. **

**WELL, I'LL TALK TO YOU GUYS IN A COUPLE OF WEEKS. UPDATE FOR THE LAST EPISODE WILL HOPEFULLY BE IN THREE WEEKS IF NOTHING COMES UP.**

**HOPE THIS CHAPTER WAS GOOD.**

**PLEASE REVIEW.**


	24. S1 E24: Part 2: The Great Devourer

S1 E24

PART 2: THE GREAT DEVOURER

_"...you must do everything in your power to stop the Great Devourer. Go, Ninja! Go!"_

Those were the final words Sensei Wu spoke as he and Pythor stood there, awaiting their destiny. Standing before them was a giant green snake probably longer than ten football fields with glowing pink eyes and long sharp fangs. It was only a second after it smashed its way through the surface that it struck and consumed Wu and the Anacondrai.

Destiny is never wrong.

The ninja were saddened and horrified by the lost of their teacher, who was also a father, an uncle, a brother and a friend. They never thought they could ever recover from the shock they've just witnessed.

"Wu," Nya said, tears welling up in her eyes.

"I don't believe this," Kitty said.

"No," Monica said, sobbing silent tears, "He can't be gone."

But they only had a moment to mourn when the creature known as the Great Devourer started staring right at them. They began to back up slowly, trying to remain still to pretend they weren't alive.

"It's okay," Carol said, "It could be just like a carnivorous dinosaur. Maybe if we stand perfectly still, he won't see us."

"Hate to break it to you, but that only works in the movies," Lloyd said.

"I guess there's only one thing to do," Nya said. She quickly turned on her heels and shouted, "RUN!"

They ran out of there like there was no tomorrow.

While they ran, Kai switch on his communicator to speak through the main computer in the bounty. "Misako, Garmadon, fire up the engines now!"

Once they had gotten to the bounty, the two remaining teachers were already trying to get the flying vessel in the air. They were having trouble, but luckily everyone made it back in time before the Devourer could get anywhere near them.

"Why haven't you fired up the engines?" Kai asked.

"We did, but there's no wind to fly in," Misako said, "We only have reserved fuel."

"Use it."

Once they got the bounty flying, the Devourer started slithering up behind them. Everything could be seen through the main computer.

Carol gasped. "Uh, not wanting to scare anybody, but objects in the mirror are closer than they appear."

"Doing our best here," Kai said, "Lloyd, I could use a little help."

"On it," Lloyd said, making his way over to the controls, "Blasters on full."

When Lloyd turned the blasters on full power, it ended up hitting the snake right in the face, pausing its chase on the bounty.

"Yes!" Nya cheered, "Take that, you stupid, giant ugly snake!"

But two seconds later, the Devourer came back, popping out of the ground and tailing the bounty again.

"I think it heard what you said, Nya," Carol said.

"Kai, we need to go faster," Nya told her brother, "That thing is gaining on us and it doesn't plan on slowing down."

"We're going as fast as we can," Kai said, "I'll try to make it to Scattered Canyon. It's the only place I know that stupid reptile won't chase us down in."

"I hate to state this, but the probability of us making it that far is less than eight percent," Pixal said.

"Pixal, for once in your life would you never state the odds," Monica said, "Serious situations call for risky matters."

"Oh, crud," Kitty said, "It's coming in for another attack. Brace yourselves!"

The Devourer came close to biting off the stern of the ship, but thankfully they were able to speed up just a little bit to try and lose it.

"Guys, we got a problem," Lloyd said, "We're starting to lose speed. If we keep this up, we'll drop to the ground pretty soon. I don't like saying this, but we gotta throw everything overboard."

"What?!" everyone shouted out at once.

"We don't have a choice. If we don't lose some weight, we're done for. Grab a bag and put anything important you got in it. Everything else needs to be thrown out."

"Come on," Kitty said.

Everyone began packing a backpack with everything important to them while also trying to throw everything off the ship at the same time. They tossed everything from the kitchen sink to the refrigerator, only for it to be eaten by the Devourer. Monica even went so far as to take her father's favorite teapot. At least it would go to the spirit world once the snake consumed it.

But everyone noticed that after everything the Devourer eats, it continues to grow at an exponentially fast pace.

"Wow, this thing sure is hungry," Carol said, "Wish I could eat that much right now."

"Uh, I'm not trying to alarm anyone, but does the Devourer looks bigger than it did before?" Nya asked.

Kitty looked down and saw the snake growing bigger after eating everything they threw overboard. "Oh, no. The more it consumes, the bigger it gets. Don't throw anything else overboard. We can't risk that thing getting bigger."

But Monica didn't hear Kitty and ended up throwing the teapot overboard before anyone could stop her. The Devourer didn't hesitate to eat it and buried itself underground. It was that moment when they made it to Scattered Canyon.

"Take a breather, everyone," Lloyd said, "We've made it to Scattered Canyon. Just hold on tight."

"If we can make it over to the top of that cliff, we should be able to lose it for good," Kai said, "Girls, get ready to call the dragons."

Kitty sighed. "I think we lost it for now."

But she should've been careful for what she said aloud.

Because the Great Devourer popped up from the ground and took a huge chunk out of the engine. The bounty started falling from the sky.

"Abandon ship!" Lloyd shouted.

The dragons swooped in just in time to save everyone. The girls jumped on top of Wild Cherry while the Garmadons and Monica hopped on Crystal. Kai flew right behind them with his jet pack. They flew away quickly from the bounty and took refuge in a cave not too far from the site of the crash.

They watched as the Devourer once again reappeared from underground. Looking down at the bounty, it picked the ship up in its mouth and crushed it up, swallowing every piece remaining in its mouth whole.

The heroes watched in horror at the site of their flying home being destroyed by the one thing they were supposed to keep buried underground. Once the Devourer was finished, it slithered back into the hole it came out of, continuing its pursuit for more to consume.

Kitty sighed. "Looks like its gone."

"Okay, I'm gonna be the first to say that was literally intense," Kai said, panting, "Did anyone remember to bring some water? After all that action, I'm just so thirsty."

"You're not the only one," Carol said, "I think we should rest for a minute. Just to catch our breath."

"I'm afraid resting is out of the question," Pixal said, "We need to warn people about the Great Devourer before it becomes bigger."

Nya stood up, calmly walking outside the cave for a moment. Everyone watched as she stood there silently. All they really needed was a pair of headphones to keep from hearing what Nya planned to do next.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

That was a scream that could've caused ear damage, but luckily everyone's hearing was still intact.

"I best be glad I knew that was gonna happen," Water Lily said. Luckily, she and the other dragons had folded their ears before Nya screamed.

Once Garmadon checked to make sure he hadn't gone deaf, he gave Nya a stern look. "May I ask what that was supposed to prove?"

"Many things!" Nya yelled angrily, "Fear! Grief! Anger! The works! Didn't you just see what just happened? That thing in one big bite just crushed our entire ship! And its just gonna keep getting bigger and bigger and bigger until its as long as the entire landmark of Ninjago!"

"Nya, I understand you're upset," Misako said, "We all are, but now is not the time to go on a rampage. You need to calm down."

"I don't wanna calm down! After seeing exactly what that thing can do, I'm scared to death! We can't fight something that huge! We need to save as many as we can and then find some sort of a refuge that's safe to hide out in. Maybe a nice, sturdy cave. Or the Serpentine tombs. Yeah, that'll work. Sure, they're underground and we'll pretty much be without sunlight, but it'll be better than living here on the surface with a giant, man-eating snake!"

"I can't believe what I'm hearing!" Kitty shouted, "Out of everyone here, I never expect you to be the first one to give up!"

"I'm not giving up!" Nya yelled back, "I'm just trying to keep us protected! Did you not just see the size of that thing? You know as well as I do that we have no chance at stopping it!"

"I have to agree with Nya," Carol said, "We've never dealt with something like that."

"We are wasting time here," Pixal said, "If we don't do something soon, the Devourer will consume all of Ninjago."

"But there's nothing we can do?" Nya shouted.

"We can't run away and hide like a bunch of children!" Kitty yelled.

"It sounds like a good idea to me!"

It was then that the girls began to argue. The others watched, not sure of what to do. Zelda finally had enough. She dug around in her backpack until she found an air horn. She motioned for the ones around her to cover their ears. She placed some headphones over her ears and finally pressed the rubber button on the horn to let out the loud sound. This solved the problem quick as the ninja stopped arguing and looked at her.

Zelda removed the headphones and walked up to the girls. "Now that I have your attention, I must say that all this fighting and arguing is getting us nowhere. Just listen to yourselves. You speak of running away into hiding and giving up all because you think we can't go against something that's bigger than us. Sensei Wu would've never wanted this."

"It doesn't matter," Monica said, "He's no longer with us. What's the point?" She lowered down to her knees and hung her head in sadness. Everyone else took a moment to mourn for their teacher.

Garmadon sighed. "He was a wonderful man. He was also a great brother, uncle, husband, and an incredible father. We will miss him dearly. But just because he's gone doesn't mean we can go and run away from everything. That's not what he would've wanted."

"And even though he's gone, his teachings live on. I went up to Sensei Wu one day shortly after we discovered I was the Yellow Ninja and I asked him about what it was like for a ninja to be in battle, especially during a moment when a ninja believes that there is nothing more to be done or they feel as though they can't do it anymore. He told me it's not the size of a ninja in a fight, it's the size of the fight in the ninja. I thought of that saying to mean that it doesn't matter what size you are. Even the largest opponents are no match for a hero. Don't forget all the training that you've gone through. All the battles you've fought against the Skulkin and Serpentine. If you can defeat them, you can defeat anyone. This is not a time to give up. A ninja never admits defeat. A ninja always pick himself or herself up when he or she is down. Which is exactly what Sensei Wu would want us to do right now. If he were here right now, he would say, 'A ninja never quits.'"

Nya sighed, tears welling up in her eyes. "I forget how stubborn I am. Sometimes I just need to be reminded of things like that."

"But I still do not understand how we will destroy a snake of that magnitude?" Pixal said.

"When there's a will, there's a way," Kitty said, "Let's think. Now we can't use the sacred flute since Pythor stole the one we had. Which would've been a great way to stall it and force it to crawl back underground. I'm sure our dragons can help us."

"We're there for all of you until the very end," Water Lily said, "But you must remember that there's only so much we can do."

"There is one thing," Wild Cherry said, "But the only way it can work is during a time when we need it the most."

"What else is it that you can do?" Nya asked.

"When you all found your true potentials, we actually grew a little stronger with the help of your powers," Blossom explained, "We've never done it before, but we were always told that when things have gone from good to bad, we could unite as one."

"Which means that we can merge together to become the Ultra Dragon of Life," Crystal said, "But it will only work when you all are in serious danger. Because we swore an oath to protect you all with our lives."

"So I guess we're back to square one," Kitty said, "The only other things that we have are the silver weapons."

"And we know good and well those won't do anything for a snake that size," Nya said, "All I can say is we are so hooped." Nya lied down on the ground, hoping that lying flat would help her think of an idea. She sighed. "It's no use. We would need a weapon bigger than that thing to defeat it."

"Or an idea that's even bigger," Zelda said, "Nya, you're a genius! I'm sure you're thinking what I'm thinking."

Nya shrugged. "Maybe or maybe not, but go ahead and tell us."

"There's not a lot of time. I'll explain everything on the way. I think I know of a way we can destroy that snake for good."

And let's hope the plan works, Zelda.

**NEXT SCENE:**

Meanwhile, on the other side of Ninjago, the remaining Serpentine warriors were busy gathering up inside the Fangpyre tomb. Scalina was getting everyone inside safe and efficiently, but it was tough to get Skales and Fangtom to stop arguing long enough to get them to safety.

"Boys, please," Scalina said, getting in between them, "This is no time to squabble. We must get ourselves to safety."

"What will-it matter?" Fangtom said, "We made the mistake-of listening to Pythor. Unleashing the Great Devourer-was a horrible idea. And it's all Skales' fault!"

"How could any of this have been my fault?" Skales asked, "How was I supposed to know he was mad?"

"You were his right-hand man. You should've known better."

"Well, if you plan on yelling at me, why don't you yell at his wife? She has been by his side all this time."

"We will do-no such thing. She had no idea-what Pythor was planning. None of this is-her fault."

"I appreciate you standing up for me, but if we don't get inside now, the Devourer will eat us all," Scalina said.

Just as she said that, the Devourer actually rolled in, ready to consume more than its fair share. Everyone started scrambling inside the tomb.

Selma looked over at her husband and yelled, "Get in, you bozo!"

Skales screamed. "We must get the queen inside. Move it, you coward!"

"You're the coward!" Fangtom yelled as the three of them jumped inside the tomb.

The moment they close it up was when the Devourer came slithering by, angered to not get its meal of snakes.

Oh, well. On to the next main course.

**NEXT SCENE:**

Back with the ninja, they had the dragons take them to a junkyard located in the Sea of Sands. The name of the place was called "Ed & Edna's Scrap N Junk." Garmadon and Misako said they were old friends and knew they wouldn't mind if they borrowed the place. Hopefully they wouldn't cause too much damage.

Once they landed their dragons, the heroes went inside to look around. With all the machinery and scrap metal, this was the perfect place for their plan to go into action.

"I think this plan might become successful," Kitty said, "The Devourer loves to consume, and this place is pretty much an all-you-can-eat buffet."

Misako went up to knock on the door. "Ed? Edna? Are you home?" After knocking a few times, she sighed in relief. "It looks like they're not here."

"Good to hear," Zelda said, "It's better if we have no one else around. Alright, let's get started." She lays out a blueprint of what looks to be a vehicle.

"Oh, this is gonna be so amazing," Nya said.

Zelda smiled. "You're not the only one who thinks that. Pixal, do you still have a recording of the sacred flute in your memory bank?"

"Yes, I do," Pixal nodded, "The original recording I placed in the bounty's files may have been destroyed, but just for safe-keeping, I have its exact tone recorded and ready for playback." She presses a button on the control panel in her arm, playing the flute recording to show everyone she still had it.

Zelda nodded. "Excellent. This place looks to be full of parts to use to build this vehicle contraption. But the only way to build it is with the four of you creating the biggest Tornado of Life yet. The rest of us will shield ourselves to prevent injuries. This is going to be dangerous and we can't have anyone around. So we must take precautions."

It was only a second later they heard the sound of someone whistling. They looked from behind a pile of junk and saw Jay walking up underneath the sign.

Kitty groaned. "What in the name of Ninjago is he doing here?"

"Uh, he lives here," Nya said.

"Well, he doesn't need to be here."

They both ran up in front of him, startling the poor guy.

"What the heck?!" Jay screamed.

"We'd say the same thing," Kitty said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Sorry, Jay," Nya said, "We didn't mean to startle you. We thought you were still back in Ninjago City with the other tourists."

"That was until another bus brought us back," Jay explained, "I told my parents to stay there while I came back here."

"I'm afraid being here is out of the question," Kitty said, "I know this is your home and all, but you need to leave right now."

"Listen, I knew something was gonna happen when the Serpentine took over that tour bus. I thought I could help you guys out. I got something on the other side of the junkyard that I've been wanting to use for ages. Whatever's going on is the best opportunity to actually help you guys in battle."

Kitty rolled her eyes. "I ain't ever seen you fight."

"Kitty, we need to give him a chance," Nya said, "Who knows? Maybe there's still some things about him that we don't know about."

"Oh, Nya, by the way, I bumped into your parents at the bus station," Jay said, "They said they were going to some thing called the 'Take Back Ninjago' rally."

"The what?"

"The 'Take Back Ninjago' rally," Lloyd said, "I've been hearing about it in the news. Everyone in Ninjago City is getting together for a rally to raise awareness about all the Serpentine problems that have been surfacing lately."

"How inspirational is that?" Monica said, "They may not be able to fight, but they can use their voices to help us out."

Jay chuckled. "Yeah. Anyway, I'm gonna go ahead and get started on my latest heroic invention. I'll be back in a minute."

As Jay walked away, Kitty gave out a sigh. "Whatever this thing is, I hope it can take down a giant slithering reptile."

Nya gasped. "Speak of the skeleton."

In the distance, the Great Devourer was making its way over to the junkyard, ready to consume an all-you-can-eat buffet in just one big gulp.

"It's coming!" Carol shouted.

"We're counting on you four," Zelda said while she and the others went to hide behind a steel wall.

"Okay, girls," Nya said, "It's now or never. Let's do this."

The girls prepared themselves for their ultimate signature move. There was only one way to do it. They can't mess it up.

"Animal Sorcery!"

"The Wild!"

"Water!"

"Nature!"

With a courageous shout of "Ninja Go!" all around, they used their true potentials to really make it strong. The Tornado of Life became taller, stronger, and brighter. Using everything in sight within the junkyard, they combined it together to create their best vehicle of all.

The Ultra Sonic Raider.

The others took a peek at this amazing new vehicle, seeing how cool and incredible it is.

They best be glad they got it finished in the nick of time. The Devourer had finally made it, and boy was it hungry.

"Okay, Pixal," Nya said, "Do it now."

"Roger that," Pixal said, pressing a button to play a recording of the song of the sacred flute. Not only did it do that, but it also created sound vibrations, which is powerful enough to knock over even the biggest of villains.

But when the sound vibrations shot out at the Devourer, it quickly dodged, missing the top of its head completely.

"Pixal, what the heck are you doing?" Kitty asked, "This ain't target practice. You gotta hit it straight in the face."

"My apologies for saying this, but may I remind you we just magically whipped up this heap of junk," Pixal said, "It takes a moment to get used to all its features."

"Well, I hope one of us created a reverse feature," Nya said, "That thing looks angry right now. The only way to escape is to reverse this thing."

Carol groaned. "I'll reverse this problem." She pulls on a lever shaped gear shift, backing the Ultra Sonic Radar away from the Devourer.

"What now?" Nya asked.

"The only way to get a clear shot is to make it hold still," Pixal said, "I will need assistance to hold it in place."

"I'll take care of it," Kitty said, pressing a button in front of her. Shooting out from an open slot in the front of the vehicle was a grappling hook. It caught the Devourer underneath the head, keeping the giant snake rooted in one spot. "Got it!"

"We can't let it get away this time," Nya reminded them, "This may be our only chance. Take the shot, Pixal! Do it now!"

"Let your ears ring, you miscreant," Pixal said, shooting another sound blast from the song of the sacred flute. This time it got the Devourer right in the face, hurting its ears and making it lower to the ground in agony.

"Yes!" Carol cheered, "It's working!"

Nya had taken a very close look at the Devourer's forehead. She looked at what was seen to be a small glowing green spot, making her gasp out loud.

"Girls, it has a weak spot!" Nya shouted.

"It has a what?" Kitty asked loudly since the music blocked out the sound.

"Look on its forehead. It has a-"

But before Nya could finish her sentence, the Devourer used its long tail to strike at Pixal's cockpit, destroying the back of the Ultra Sonic Radar. But a part of the vehicle being smashed to smithereens was the least of their worries.

"Pixal!" the remaining three ninja cried.

This gave the Devourer the perfect moment to leave. But nobody paid the snake much heed since their friend was more important at the moment.

Everyone who remained behind the steel wall came out, seeing everything that happened.

"Are you all alright?" Misako asked.

"Where's Pixal?" Zelda asked.

"I'm right here." Everyone looked to see Pixal emerge from the damaged cockpit. They were shocked to see she was missing the left side of her face and it now showed the robotics underneath, but they were glad to see she was still alive.

Misako gasped. "Pixal, are you okay? It doesn't hurt, does it?"

"Sort of, but I will be fine," Pixal said, "My brain is protected by a titanium barrier. That way it will be protected from harm. I will admit, though. That was a close one."

Nya sighed. "Too close. And I would like to go ahead and mention that was a total failure."

"I think you've made your point for the fiftieth time today," Carol said, clutching her stomach, "I need to take a moment and puke." She walked off to find some privacy.

"Well, even though we weren't able to totally defeat that giant thing, there is one good thing that came out of it. It has a glowing green weak spot on top of its forehead. Which is good, but I'm not sure how we're going to be able to get to it since that thing is too ridiculously huge to do anything to stop it! Why must everything turn from being hopeful to hopeless?"

Kai cleared his throat. "Are you done, sis?"

Nya sighed. "Yes, I'm done. I guess ranting never works."

"Well, it seems as though things got worse," Lloyd said, looking at a small map device, "While you girls were distracting it, I shot a tracker behind its neck. According to the signal, its making its way towards Ninjago City."

Nya gasped, looking at Kai. "That's where Mom and Dad are!"

"And my father is there, too," Pixal said.

"So is an entire city full of innocent civilians," Kitty said, "If it consumes the biggest city in all of Ninjago, there will be no stopping it."

Oh, no. This is definitely worse that bad.

**NEXT SCENE:**

In the city underground, the subway tunnels are going about their day as usual. People waiting for the train to get from one place to another in the city. Sitting inside the computer system room was a woman in business attire, checking to make sure all tracks are running smoothly. While she sits in her chair slurping down coffee, she is bewildered to see track number nine running when it shouldn't be.

She pressed a button to speak through the desk speaker. "Hey, George. Would you mind checking the systems? It's saying there's a train entering the city on Track Nine."

There was a pause until a male voice spoke through. "That's strange. It's only 1:15 in the afternoon. The next subway train shouldn't be driving through there until 2:00 P.M."

"Well, I'm seeing something big. Something that shouldn't be traveling through here."

It was only a moment later when a shaking sensation was felt inside one of the subway stations. The civilians looked through one of the tunnels, thinking that the train was coming in. But instead, they got an even bigger surprise.

The Great Devourer came charging in through the tunnels. The people inside rushed out quicker than cheetahs through the savanna. The snake burst its way through the subway station building and began slithering its way into Ninjago Square.

In front of a tall building, a group of people were gathering around for the "Take Back Ninjago" rally. People from all over were there, chanting "Hey, hey, what do we say? We want snakes to slither away" as a band kept a steady fun beat in rhythm.

Ray and Maya were watching the crowd, proud to see the people standing up and using their words to let everyone know they were supporting the ninja to defeat the Serpentine. They would do anything to stop those snakes considering that both their kids were out there protecting Ninjago from the slither heads.

"You know, I wonder what our kids are up to right now," Maya said, "I hope Nya finally got over that head cold."

"I'm sure they're just fine, Maya," Ray said. Then he looked over to see some people with cameras and boom operators surrounding the Ninjago Crime Unit building. "Looks like they're filming another movie over there."

"Oh, I wonder what kind of action movie it'll be. I know I wanna see it."

Inside the building on the top floor, filming was going on inside the meeting room. Cole Brookstone is standing right next to the star of the movie, John Grond. Standing across from them on the opposite side of the table was Mary Martz, an older actress in her fifties. They were getting set up for the first day of filming.

"Okay, places everyone," the director said, "Now this is our first scene of the movie. We need to go ahead and get any and all filming done this week in here so the NCU workers can have their meeting room back. So let's get this movie rolling. The sooner we start, the sooner we finish. Quiet on set, please. Let's begin. Lights, camera, action!"

"Meeting room scene, take one," a crewman said, starting the filming.

"Alright, let's go over the reason why we're here," Mary Martz said, getting into character, "We've had some illegal trades going on in the west side of Ninjago City. So far, we've got nothing. That's where you two come in."

"Are you sure we should let this guy come with us?" John Grond asked in character, "He's only a kid. A newbie."

"I've got just as much skills as you do, Mark," Cole said in character.

"You're in no position to brag, kid. And that's Agent Laurence to you. We're nowhere near first-name basis."

Mary cleared her throat. "If I may continue. As I was saying..."

As Mary continued on, one of the crew members saw something in the window. He tapped the director's shoulder and pointed straight ahead. Before he could yell cut, the Devourer's tail crashed through the room, destroying the entire place. Unfortunately, Cole was caught in the crossfire and was snatched up by the snake's tail.

"Whoa!" Cole screamed, "Help!"

"What the heck is that thing?" John Grond shouted, running out of the room, "Hang on, kid."

Cole was literally hanging on for dear life. But his grip kept loosening the more the Devourer swung its tail around. Finally, Cole could hold on no more and was sent falling towards the concrete ground.

But then a giant vulture flew by and caught him, letting him land softly on its back.

Panting in fear, Cole was wondering why and how in the world he ended up on the back of a giant bird, but his question was answered when they landed on the ground and that giant bird transformed into a person all too familiar to him.

"Carol?"

Carol gasped, shaking the dizziness from her head. "How did you know it was me?"

"Your purple highlight gave it away. I don't know of anyone else that has one just like yours."

Carol chuckled nervously. "Well, now you know my secret. I'm a ninja. Mistress of Animal Sorcery."

"Well, I have to admit. That's really cool."

Carol heard screams of panic and knew she was needed. "Sorry, I gotta go. A ninja's work is never done. Just find a safe place to go. And hurry."

Cole nodded. "I will." Then he ran off in the direction of the damaged NCU building.

Carol transformed into a blue jay, making her way back to the battle scene. She saw Nya and Kai's parents rushing towards their old pick-up truck to escape the Great Devourer.

"What is that thing?" Maya asked her husband.

"I don't know," Ray said, jumping in the driver's seat, "But we're not sticking around to find out." He sticks the key in the ignition, but when he tried to crank up the truck, it wouldn't start up. "Darn this thing!"

"Oh, no." Maya looked up and saw the Devourer staring right at them.

But it was only a second later when Kai and Nya jumped on the hood of their parents' truck, staring down the giant snake.

"Leave out parents alone!" Kai shouted.

"Water!" Nya yelled out, using her powers to spray the Devourer in the face.

Gayle Gossip, reporter for the Ninjago News Channel, had just arrived on the scene, ready to report the emergency all across Ninjago.

"Start filming, Denny," Gayle told her cameraman, "We need to get every bit of footage we can of this thing."

"You got it," Denny said.

But it wasn't a moment too soon when Carol stepped in. She had transformed into an elephant and used her trunk to grab hold of the news van.

"Sorry," Carol said, "Hope you don't mind if I borrow this." She chuck the van at the Devourer, hitting it straight in the face. "Bulls-eye!" Then she rushed over to help Kai and Nya.

"That was incredible!" Gayle shouted, "Go, Ninja, Go!"

Kitty started running up to the snake, knocking it in the head with a tree branch. Once she landed back on the ground, she took out her bow and arrows. She shot a few in its back, making the Devourer roar in pain.

"Even the biggest of creatures can feel the smallest of pain," Kitty said.

"Allow me to assist you," Pixal said, raising up her sais, "Nature!" She summoned branches with thorns from the ground, wrapping them around the Devourer to keep it from moving.

"Yes!" Nya exclaimed, "Good work, Pixal!"

But the Devourer was one to also have a few tricks up its metaphorical sleeve. It began to eat through the branches, giving the ninja a look that could literally kill.

"It seems I have only fed it," Pixal said.

"Not only that, but I think it's pretty angry with us," Carol said.

Is there not a way to stop this colossal reptile?

**NEXT SCENE**:

In the peaceful town of Jamanakai Village, Mistaké is going about her day in the tea shop when she head the front door open. Now she's had some strange customers in her day, but none are as strange as the one who just walked inside. A person wearing nothing but black except for the green jeweled necklace around her neck.

"Well, if it isn't the one and only Queen Valderra," Mistaké said, "To what shall I bestow upon you today, your Majesty." She chuckled in amusement.

"Cut the act, Mistaké," Valderra said, "I came here for some Traveler's Tea."

"You know that only a fool would request Traveler's Tea. But I forget that villains like you never listen, which makes you a fool."

Valderra sighed. "I don't have time for this."

Mistaké rolled her eyes. "I'll go get some for you in the back."

"And I am here live, caught in the middle of an epic ninja versus snake battle." Valderra looked to see Gayle Gossip on television with the ninja battling against the Great Devourer behind her. "People, I have never seen bravery like this before. But I fear the ninja are no match for a beast this size. People are recommended to flee or run away, waving their arms wildly while screaming like little children. And that may be a good idea. This thing sure loves to eat."

Mistaké returned a moment later with a bag of tea leaves. "Alright, I brought you your..." But when she turned around, Valderra was gone. "Oh, well. It's for the better."

But the question is, where did Valderra go?

**NEXT SCENE:**

Meanwhile, back in Ninjago City, the ninja were scattered everywhere, using their powers every which way to try and stop the Devourer. But no matter what they tried, their powers just wouldn't work on such a giant snake. And it didn't help matters that it kept trying to consume them all.

Kai and Lloyd came in holding up a lamppost, using it to hold open the Devourer's mouth so it wouldn't try to lunge at them.

"Yes!" Nya cheered, "Samurai and the green ninja are here to save the day! Again!"

"I hope this works," Kai said.

Lloyd ended up getting a whiff of the Devourer's breath. "Oh, that's gross! Its breath smells worse than my dad's duck stew!"

"I heard that!" Garmadon yelled out from atop a building.

It was at that moment that Monica sneaked away from her aunt and uncle and hid behind the air conditioning unit to change into her Double MW clothing.

Kai and Lloyd were having an issue, though. They couldn't escape off the lamppost because they were hanging onto it and trying to keep away from the Devourer's forked tongue. Plus the fuel in Kai's jet pack ran out so they couldn't fly out of there.

"Kai, Lloyd, what are you doing?" Nya asked, "You need to get out of there!"

"We can't," Kai said, "My jet pack's dead. There's no way to fly out."

Before Kai and Lloyd were about to be consumed by the giant snake, a flying mechanical suit swooped in and got them out of there. They both looked at the person in the cockpit and couldn't believe who it was.

"Jay!"

"That's right!" Jay exclaimed, "I, Jay Walker, have come to save the day!"

"I guess that must be the heroic invention he was talking about," Kitty said.

"I guess it is," Nya said, "Go, Jay!"

Jay chuckled. "I'll set you both back on solid ground. Then I'm going after that thing."

"You sure you wanna take that thing on?" Kai asked, "Its huge!"

"True, but I heard that it's got a weak spot. If I can get to it, I might be able to destroy it." Once Jay got Kai and Lloyd to safety, he made his way over to the Devourer. "Come at me, you giant slithering hunk of scales."

The Devourer didn't hesitate to shoot its way over to Jay. Pressing the red buttons on the control levers, he released two missiles to blast in the Devourer's face, blinding the snake.

"He's distracting it to get to its weak spot," Pixal said.

"Let's hope he can take it down," Carol said.

Jay pressed another button on the controls to send out the laser, but just as he did so, the Devourer used its tail to strike Jay and his mech and caused him to hit the ground. The laser ended up puncturing a hole in the Devourer's left side, but it hardly affect the colossal creature.

"Jay!" Nya shouted.

"Oh, dear!" Zelda yelled out.

They all rushed up to Jay to make sure he was okay. Nya and Kai were able to drag him out of the mech, sitting him up against it.

"Are you okay?" Nya asked.

Jay groaned. "I'm pretty banged up, but I think I'll be fine. Although, I will admit that my left wrist hurts pretty bad." He gasped, pointing behind everyone. "Who is that?"

They all turned around and saw the one person they thought they wouldn't see again so soon.

"Valderra!"

"You came back!" Zelda exclaimed.

"I wish it were under better circumstances," Valderra said, "I know how to stop the Devourer. And you won't like what has to be done to destroy it."

"How?" Carol asked.

"I need you to give me the silver weapons."

"What?!" Nya shouted angrily, "No way!"

"You must," Valderra said, "I am the only one who can handle the power of all four weapons at once. It's the only thing that will defeat the Devourer. I ask that you trust me on this."

"You cannot be serious. Last I heard we were supposed to do everything in our power not to let you possess the weapons. Sorry, but I'm not going for it."

"You will not like this, Nya, but throughout every other scenario I have ran through my servers, giving her the silver weapons to defeat the Devourer is the only way," Pixal explained.

"You must make a choice," Valderra said, "What is more important? Your weapons or the people of Ninjago?"

Nya looked around at the destruction caused by the Great Devourer and saw the horror and fear in the people's eyes. Then she looked down at her silver weapon, remembering everything she went through just to get it. She couldn't choose between the two. Both were important to her, but sometimes one choice has to make a sacrifice.

Sighing, she walked over to Valderra and handed over the Fans of Water. "I will always put the needs of others before myself. I may have went through a lot to get this, but it's only a weapon. It may be important, but it's not as important as the citizens of Ninjago."

"As dark as my heart is, I will admit that you made the right choice," Valderra said.

The other three handed over the remaining silver weapons, with Kitty making sure to say what needs to be said. "Just make sure you bring these back to us after your done."

"I will go to do my part. Just do whatever you can to make sure it stays in one spot. Once you've done that, I will jump down and make a blow on its weak spot. Good luck, ninja." Valderra ran off through the city.

"How does she expect us to keep that thing in one spot?" Carol asked, "There's no way we can do that."

"We can do this," Zelda said, "We're ninja. And ninja never quit. All we need to do is think up of a plan."

They heard someone whistle out to them. Looking up, they saw a familiar mysterious warrior clothed in black, waving at them.

"Double MW!" they cheered.

The mysterious warrior motioned for everyone except Nya to follow them. Now it looks like they have a plan. Follow Double MW.

"Let's do this," Nya told herself. She looked up at the Devourer. "Hey, you big, stupid slither head! Come and get me!" She makes a run for it.

The Devourer follows her down the long street. Honestly, Nya had no idea what she was doing. She was basically running until she saw some sort of sign. And she did. A wooden sign with an arrow pointing down an alleyway was where she needed to go. She turned in to find Kitty standing right in the middle of the alley.

"Good run, Nya," Kitty said, "Take a breather. I'll continue forward. Follow me, you overgrown bag of scales!"

The Devourer started chasing after Kitty now. She was able to help get the snake tangled up in a construction site to keep it still for a few minutes. Waiting on top of an abandoned apartment building was Carol, prepping for her turn despite her queasy stomach.

"Hello, Devourer," Carol said, "You want me? Well, come and get me!" Even without her bo staff, she can still use her natural talent of sorcery to change into animals, just not in any shapes or sizes that she wants. Once she changed herself into a cheetah, she took off faster than lightning.

But that didn't stop the Devourer. It stayed right on top of her all the way up until she made it down the street to find Pixal waiting atop a building.

Carol transformed back into herself. "Thanks for waiting."

"Anytime," Pixal said, "I'm afraid to say there is no fire escape, so we will zip line our way out of here." She showed Carol a vine going from the building they were on to the small corner store across the street.

"Awesome!"

They used their ribbon sashes to zip line down. They wished they were going fast enough because the Devourer was close on their heels.

"Uh, oh," Pixal said.

"No, no, no!" Carol cried.

But in the nick of time, Blossom swooped in to save them and flew off right when the Devourer chomped down its mighty fangs.

Carol and Pixal took a moment to calm their beating hearts, whether they were real or artificial. Blossom chuckled and flew up high so they could get a better look from above.

"Did it work?" Carol asked.

Pixal looked down to see the Devourer biting on its own tail. "It worked!"

"Yes!"

Blossom sent them over to the top of the building where Garmadon and Misako had been waiting the entire time. The ninja cheered and grasped each other in a group hug. Once they pulled themselves together, it was time to destroy the Great Devourer once and for all.

"Okay, we've done our part," Kitty said, "Now it's time for Valderra to do hers. This thing won't stay in one place for long."

"Where is she?" Carol asked.

Zelda pointed up at a skyscraper, where she found her grandmother standing atop of, holding the silver weapons. "She's up there!"

The sky soon filled with dark clouds, blocking out any sort of light. Valderra looked down at the Great Devourer with a look of disgust and hatred. "I have been waiting my whole life for this. You have caused my downfall. You are the reason evil runs through my blood." A dark purple energy radiates around her body, strengthening her power as she held the silver weapons in each of her four arms. "I will not stand for you to torture another living soul. You bit me once. Now feel what it's like to be bitten back. Vengeance will be mine!"

She jumps off the skyscraper and uses every strength of dark energy she possessed to land right on top of the Great Devourer's weak spot.

With one final bloodcurdling screech, the giant snake became nothing more than a wave of its own venom spreading throughout Ninjago City. Citizens ran outside, cheering in relief and happiness.

The Great Devourer was no more.

**NEXT SCENE:**

Inside the Fangpyre tomb, the Serpentine are still hiding when they began hearing noises filled with joy, not fear. This confused them at first until they realized why the surface dwellers were cheering.

"Does that cheering mean the Great Devourer has been destroyed?" Selma asked.

"I believe it does," Skalidor said.

Skales sighed. "I have this strange feeling that Pythor is gone. And I must admit it is a good feeling."

"But who will lead?" Fangtom asked.

All eyes were placed on Scalina's. She looked at them with a smile. Selma brought her a crown worn by many female serpent queens from ancient times and placed it upon Scalina's head. The four Serpentine generals placed their staffs down and bowed down in her honor, as did the entire Serpentine tribe.

"All hail, Queen Scalina! Ruler of the Serpentine!"

Scalina smiled. "Yes, I am your ruler. Your true ruler."

Oh, will this be good or bad?

**NEXT SCENE:**

Back in Ninjago City, the entire town was celebrating over the ninja's triumph in destroying the Great Devourer. Ray and Maya rushed over to embrace Kai and Nya for saving them. Cyrus Borg even went to congratulate his daughter and began to make a fuss over her face injury, but Pixal didn't seem to mind so much.

Carol found Cole waiting up for her, but she took a step back when he tried to hug her. "I should probably warn you that I have the stomach flu. Hugging may not be a good idea."

Cole shrugged, hugging her anyway. "I've been working non-stop on the movie set for three weeks. I could use a vacation."

Carol giggled, returning the hug.

Zelda looked around for her grandmother, but she was nowhere in sight. "Has anyone else seen my grandmother?"

"She should be around here somewhere," Nya said, "She couldn't have just disappeared."

Pixal began to scan the area, but was unsuccessful in her search. "I am afraid to say that Valderra is gone. And so are our silver weapons."

Kitty shrugged. "I knew that was gonna happen."

Lloyd pointed to the ground. "I found her footprints." He was right. There was a trail leading down the street where Valderra had run off to.

Nya sighed, looking at Zelda. "I'm sorry to say you'll be seeing your grandmother again sooner than we thought."

"I know," Zelda said, "I am afraid, but I won't let my fears hold me back."

They saw an ambulance pass by, making their way over to Jay, who was actually walking over to the paramedics.

Nya rushed over to him. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Jay said, "It won't hurt to get checked out, though. I already called my folks to let them know what happened."

"Thanks so much for helping us. Sorry about your mech, though."

"Ah, don't worry about it. I'll fix it up. And if you ever need my help, you know how to contact me. We're still up for that date, right?"

"You bet. I'll let you know when."

The paramedics brought Jay up in the ambulance before he could say bye to Nya. But it didn't really need to be said. Then she noticed Garmadon and Misako were frantically searching for their niece.

"Monica!" Garmadon called out, "Where are you?"

"I'm over here." Monica rushed down the street to show them she was okay.

They both wrapped her in a hug, not letting go. She stayed in their embrace until she noticed something familiar from down the street.

Actually, it was someone. Someone she thought she lost.

"Daddy!"

Monica slipped out of her relatives grasp and went to embrace her father, who stood in a huge pile of green snake venom.

"Brother!" Garmadon exclaimed, embracing his brother, "Come here, you old coot!"

"He's alive!" Lloyd shouted as he and the others rushed over to gather around Wu.

"Oh, it is good to see you all again," Wu said, "I must drink some tea. The Devourer left a bad taste in my mouth." He poured some tea into his cup and took a good long sip out of it. "Ah, yes. Much better. And I'm glad it's still hot."

"It's good to have you back, Sensei Wu," Zelda said, "I'm afraid I must deliver bad news. My grandmother has taken off with the silver weapons."

Wu nodded. "I had a feeling. The ability of the weapon is truly great, but the ability to better oneself makes you limitless."

"I've never even heard that saying before," Nya said, "We pretty much learned that all on our own. I'll admit that Valderra did help us in a way. Our weapons were important, but the people of Ninjago needed us more. And we put their needs first before our own."

"You took the words right out of my mouth," Misako said.

"Besides, we already have what's important," Kitty said, "We have Zelda."

"And we know she'll be stronger than any weapon," Carol said.

"The students truly have become the teachers," Garmadon said.

"I think all of us have become teachers after today," Zelda said, "But I fear the future. I wish I didn't have to fight against my grandmother. Must that be the only way?"

Wu sighed. "I'm afraid so, but that is for another day. Today we can feel good that Ninjago is saved, for tomorrow you will train for the day. Good will finally face evil and a final outcome will be decided for all of time. And I have faith it will be us."

"And we're gonna teach you everything we know so you'll be ready," Nya said.

"We wouldn't let you go out in that fight unprepared," Kitty said, "Not in a million years."

"Because as we all know, good will always stand up to evil every step of the way," Carol said.

"And ninja will always stand up for what is right no matter what," Pixal said.

"We do it together," Lloyd said, placing his hand in Zelda's.

Zelda accepted it with a smile. "We do it forever."

As their teachers watched, the ninja, samurai, green ninja, and a hero still mysterious to them came in for a hero pose.

"Go, Ninja, Go!"

Let the adventures begin...

* * *

**OMG! I'LL ADMIT THAT THIS IS LITERALLY THE LONGEST CHAPTER I'VE EVER WRITTEN. **

**I'M SORRY TO SAY THAT THIS SEASON HAS ENDED. BUT NO NEED TO WORRY. SEASON TWO IS COMING SOON AND IT'S LITERALLY MY FAVORITE SEASON.**

**ALSO, JUST A LITTLE NOTE TO ADD. I MENTIONED HERE THAT THE DRAGONS CAN FORM AS THE ULTRA DRAGON OF LIFE. YEAH, THAT WON'T BE HAPPENING UNTIL THE SECOND SEASON AND I WILL MAKE SURE TO DO MY VERY BEST TO PLACE THE DRAGONS IN MORE OF THE NEXT SEASON.**

**OKAY, GUYS. I PROMISED IN THE LAST CHAPTER THAT I WOULD TELL YOU THE NAME OF MY NEXT STORY. **

**(DRUMROLL PLEASE)**

**THE ADVENTURES OF LLOYD GARMADON: PILOT EPISODES.**

**THIS IS ACTUALLY A REBOOT TO MY ORIGINAL STORIES OF LLOYD GARMADON. I HAVE THE STORYLINE READY FOR THE PILOT EPISODES. I JUST HAVE TO WRITE THE STORY.**

**OKAY, GUYS, TELL ME IN THE REVIEWS: WAS THIS STORY GREAT OR WAS IT AWESOME? AND DON'T FORGET TO TELL ME ALL OF YOUR FAVORITE PARTS.**

**THANKS TO ALL YOU READERS OUT THERE. AND LET'S NOT FORGET THE REVIEWERS:**

**Ryry-24, The Mayor of Ninjago City, I am a Ninjago Fan, EmpressLoveSiren23, AND ALL THE GUESTS.**

**YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!**

**THIS STORY MAY HAVE ENDED, BUT I'LL BE BACK WITH MORE. FOR THOSE OF YOU HEADING BACK TO SCHOOL, STAY SAFE. FOR THOSE OF YOU BEING HOMESCHOOLED THIS YEAR, STAY SAFE AS WELL.**

**HOPE THIS STORY WAS THE BEST.**

**PLEASE REVIEW.**

**The Mistress of Ninjago22 IS OUT!**


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